It Takes Two
by ouatswanfan
Summary: A Henry has a twin story where Regina adopted Henry and his twin sister. Starts during S1E01. Incorporates events from canon, but will also have some differences. This will incorporate all of the characters from the show, but will be heavy on Emma and the twins and Regina and the twins. Henry's twin does not believe in the curse and did not want to find Emma.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** I've seen a few stories where Emma had twins and I have one of my own, Double Trouble. That story starts in S3E12 and the OC twin sister, Mia, was never adopted and grew up in the system like Emma. I had some reviewers ask why Mia wasn't adopted by Regina, and it got me thinking about how some of the story lines from season one would have played out if Mia were living with Regina, too. So this is that story. You don't need to read Double Trouble for this to make sense. It's a completely different take on it. Emma had twins and Regina adopted both of them. The OC twin sister, Mia, and Henry are really close, but she doesn't believe in the curse and she didn't want to find Emma.

For anyone who is reading Double Trouble and this, Mia is still Mia with the same personality, but there are a lot of differences because she didn't grow up in the system.

Thanks for reading! If you like this, please let me know and I'll continue. I have ideas for the story lines through all of season one.

 **Chapter 1**

"Come with me. Please," Henry begged. "I know you don't believe me about the curse, but she's still our mom."

Mia looked at her brother sadly, knowing he was just going to get hurt. "She's not…our mom. She didn't want us when we were born. Why would she want us now? She's just going to hurt you."

"You want to meet her…I can tell. You're just scared."

Mia bristled a little. "I'm _not_ scared. I'm just…not interested."

Henry looked like he was resigning himself to going alone. "It's okay…she's going to come back here with me. You can meet her then. You're going to cover for me with Ms. Blanchard, aren't you?"

"Well, yeah…you might not be her favorite anymore if she knew you stole her credit card and skipped school to go on an unauthorized field trip to Boston."

Henry ignored her sarcasm. "Just tell her I'm home sick."

"I know. We _have_ done this before…just – usually the roles are reversed. You're supposed to be the good twin. I finally corrupted you." Mia smiled proudly.

"We're both good," Henry said earnestly.

Mia scoffed. "I think Mom and Ms. Blanchard and, oh, Principal Daly might disagree."

"I know you're good. And so is our mom."

Mia blinked. "I thought she was the Evil Queen?"

"Not her!" Henry said irritably. "Our _real_ mom."

"You don't know her," Mia said flatly. "She might not be good. She could be a total psycho or a serial killer for all we know."

"She's a bail bondsperson." Mia gave him a questioning look and he shrugged. "I Googled her."

That was actually kind of cool, but Mia tried to act unimpressed. "So she's a bail bondsperson…that doesn't mean she's good."

"She literally catches bad guys. She's going to save everyone."

"From what? Dying of boredom? Henry, she didn't want us. She's not going to save us from anything."

"She is. You'll see," Henry said insistently.

"I just don't want her to hurt you," Mia said softly.

"She's not gonna," Henry said confidently. "She's our mom."

* * *

This was bad…this was _really_ bad. The adoptive mother of the twins she had given up for adoption was the _mayor_ of all people, and it was clear from the sheriff's car parked in the driveway that the adoptive parents had called the cops.

 _Crap_. Emma Swan knew that the birth mother bringing the missing kid back did _not_ look good. And with her record…well, she didn't have a lot of trust in the justice system – or _any_ system really. She just wanted to drop the kid off and go home, but she didn't know if it would be that easy. She took a deep breath and forced herself to get out of the car.

The kid's shrink had told her the mayor's house was the largest house on the block, and it was. It was a big, almost imposing white two-story that made every foster home Emma had ever lived in look like a hovel by comparison. _This_ was where her…kids lived. It was a hell of a lot better than crashing in a car or a crappy one-bedroom apartment like they would have if _she_ had kept them.

The lawn was perfectly manicured and the porch light was on. Before they reached the porch, the door swung open.

"Henry!" A woman cried in relief, rushing out and wrapping her arms around the kid. "Oh, are you okay?" The woman pulled back, grasping the kid's shoulders. "Where have you been?" The woman noticed Emma standing there awkwardly and looked to her for the answer. "What happened?"

"I found my real mom!" The kid yelled, running past the woman who was clearly his adoptive mother and into the house without a backward glance.

The sheriff was standing behind the adoptive mother, watching quietly, and looked torn between staying with the mother and talking to the kid.

Her kids' adoptive mother turned to Emma with a stricken expression. She blinked and shook her head slightly as she processed it. "You're their birth mother?"

Well, this was awkward…

"Hi," Emma said with a tight smile, feeling extremely uncomfortable.

"Where's Mia?" The woman demanded, looking past Emma to the street.

Emma blinked. "Mia? Oh, right, his sister. Um, she didn't come with him. He said she was scared-"

The woman scoffed and cut her off. "My daughter isn't afraid of anything. If she wasn't with Henry, it's because she didn't _want_ to meet you."

Emma didn't know why the thought that her…daughter didn't want to meet her hurt, but it did. When she gave them up, she never thought she'd see her son _or_ her daughter again so it shouldn't have mattered to her. But now that she'd met her son, she couldn't help but want to know what her daughter was like.

The sheriff cleared his throat softly. "So Mia's still missing, Madam Mayor?"

The woman frowned. "It would appear so. Sheriff, if you would be so kind as to go talk to Henry? If anyone knows where Mia is, it's him."

To Emma's surprise, the woman invited her in for a drink. She let out a relieved breath. It didn't seem like anyone thought she'd done anything wrong here, though the woman did question her on 'the father' and whether she needed to be worried about her or Neal. She didn't.

* * *

It was late and the only light came from the streetlights. Mia stood in a dark alleyway where she could peek around the corner to see anyone that got off the idling bus, but they wouldn't be able see her. The only problem was that no one was actually getting off the bus.

Storybrooke was a small town with one bed-and-breakfast and no tourist attractions. They didn't have a movie theater or a mall…or, well, much of anything. Mia knew it wouldn't exactly be a popular stop, but there should have been one person getting off there…her brother. It was the last bus back from Boston for the night.

Henry was so sure their birth mother would come back to Storybrooke with him. Mia wasn't.

Mia watched helplessly as the engine turned over loudly and the bus pulled away from the stop at a slow creep. Where was Henry? Was he alone in Boston? She should have gone with him…he asked her to go with him – several times in fact.

Mia could imagine her overly optimistic brother who always saw the best in everyone getting in the car with a complete stranger. She should have been there to stop him from doing something stupid. She just should have been there…the way Henry was always there for her.

Mia started the short walk home, hoping her brother would be there. She hadn't gone home after school because she didn't want to face Regina's wrath alone. Even though _she_ wasn't the one that hopped a bus to Boston, she knew that wouldn't stop Regina from taking her anger out on her. Regina took her anger out on her a lot lately…or maybe she was really just that angry at her… _still_ – for something that had happened months ago…something that she hadn't meant to do…something that would never have even happened if Regina hadn't been lying to them for ten years.

 _"Watch for Mom and let me know if she's coming back. I'm going to find my Gameboy."_

 _Henry looked hesitant. "Maybe you shouldn't. She's already mad."_

 _"At me, not you. Just, like, whistle or something if you see her, okay?"_

 _Henry nodded reluctantly and turned to the door to the mayor's office. Regina was in a council meeting. They weren't allowed to stay home by themselves for that long and their mom had fired yet another babysitter. It sucked being grounded at home, but it was even worse being grounded in Regina's office where there was absolutely nothing to do without her favorite electronics._

 _Mia started going through Regina's desk drawers, looking for the Gameboy her mom had taken away earlier. When she came up empty-handed, she moved over to the filing cabinet. It was locked, but Regina left her purse under her desk. Mia rummaged through the designer leather handbag until she found her mom's keys in a side pocket. There was only one key on the key ring that was small enough to be a possibility._

 _Mia inserted the key into the lock on the filing cabinet and turned it, grinning triumphantly when she heard it click open. She returned her mom's keys to exactly where she found them and then went back to the now-unlocked cabinet, feeling good about the chances she'd find her Gameboy hidden in the bottom._

 _As she searched the filing cabinet, her eyes automatically went to a file folder with her name on it. She wondered what was in it and reached for it almost on autopilot. Her birth certificate was the first thing in the folder. She picked it up and looked at it curiously. Huh…the space where their father's name should be was blank._

 _Regina never talked about their dad - even though Henry had asked about him at least a hundred times. Mia had never been interested in the man that clearly didn't want anything to do with them, but maybe she could give her brother the answer he needed. She turned back to the folder to see what else was in it…maybe there would be something on their dad in it._

 _The next thing in the folder was a…Certificate of Adoption. For just a moment, Mia didn't understand. She wasn't adopted. But the certificate had her name and her birthday. It had her mom's name and signature at the very bottom. She almost couldn't believe her eyes._

 _Mia just sat there on the floor of Regina's office, reeling with shock as she tried to process this. It was right there in front of her in black-and-white…she was adopted. Everything she thought she knew was a lie. Why hadn't her mom told her? Was it just her – or was it both of them? Was Henry even her twin?_

 _Henry…she heard him whistling in the hallway. It sounded so far away, but she knew it wasn't. She heard her mom – no, not her mom…Regina? – ask Henry what he was doing in the hallway and where she was. It didn't seem important to put the file folder away before they saw her anymore. She couldn't un-see the Certificate of Adoption or pretend like she didn't know so she just sat there numbly._

 _"Mia! What are you doing?"_

 _"I'm adopted?" Mia struggled to form the words that were so strange to her._

 _"What?!" Henry shrieked._

Her mom hadn't been…well, her mom since that day – and not just biologically. Regina hadn't been herself. She was colder somehow. She'd always been strict, but she'd also been fiercely protective and loving. Now sometimes Mia thought Regina hated her.

Mia let out a long-suffering sigh as she turned onto Mifflin Street. There was an old, beat up yellow Volkswagen Bug parked in front of her house. She stopped walking and stared at it. Unease washed over her when she saw the Massachusetts license plate…their birth mother lived in Boston.

"Mia, your mom will be glad to see you."

Mia recognized the voice and turned to Sheriff Graham with a sinking feeling in her stomach. Regina called the freaking sheriff. She scoffed slightly. _Of course_ she had - or maybe he was already there. It didn't really matter. He was standing there on the front porch, looking her over carefully for any sign that she was hurt.

Mia wanted to turn and run, but she just kind of froze. And then it was too late…he had a hand on her shoulder and was guiding her toward the house. She shrugged his hand off, but reluctantly went in with Graham right behind her.

"Madam Mayor?" Graham called out quietly from just inside the doorway. _That_ was a little formal for the guy she'd seen sneaking out of Regina's bedroom earlier that week. Mia just shook her head and made a small disgusted sound. "Mia's home."

Mia heard the distinctive click of heels on the hardwood floor and then Regina was in front of her. "Mia! Are you okay? Where have you been?"

"Didn't you get my note? I left you a note," Mia said, already feeling defensive.

"Ah, yes…a note telling me you were going to a friend's house." Regina was calm, but Mia knew it was the calm before the storm. "You do not _tell_ me what you are doing."

Graham was still standing behind her and Mia could feel the startling intensity of another gaze on her. That was when she saw the blonde woman standing a few feet behind Regina. The woman was just standing there, watching intently as Regina lectured her. This wasn't awkward at all…

Mia met the blonde woman's gaze for a second and then quickly looked away. She could feel her cheeks flushing. She hated that Regina was scolding in front of other people…especially _these_ people – her adoptive mom's…boyfriend or whatever the hell he was and the woman that she knew somehow was her birth mother. It was embarrassing.

"You're ten. You do nothing without my permission," Regina continued, not seeming to care how uncomfortable Mia was.

"Nothing? Really? I need to ask you if I can go to the bathroom now?"

Regina's expression hardened. "This isn't going to the bathroom, and I think you know that. Unless you have my permission to do otherwise, you come straight home from school."

"Do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars," Mia muttered under her breath, but Regina heard anyway and narrowed her eyes.

"Is that clear?" Regina said sharply.

"Crystal." Mia turned to leave.

"Not so fast, young lady." Regina stopped her. "Did you know what your brother was doing?"

Mia shifted uncomfortably…she _knew_ Regina would blame her. "No…"

"You _really_ expect me to believe you had no idea that Henry ran away to Boston to find this woman?" Regina gestured toward the blonde woman, actually acknowledging her for the first time.

"I don't even know who she is," Mia said flatly.

The blonde woman looked uncomfortable. "I'm…I'm…"

"The woman who gave you up for adoption," Regina cut her off.

Her adoptive mom and her birth mother both seemed to be waiting for a reaction, but Mia wasn't going to give them one. She kept her face expressionless. "I'm really tired. Can you finish yelling at me tomorrow?"

"I'm sure you are," Regina said without a bit of sympathy. "It's way past your bedtime. All right, go to _your_ room, _not_ Henry's, and straight to bed. We'll discuss your insolence tomorrow."

Mia went to the stairs, forcing herself not to look back. Henry was waiting for her in her room. Well, _technically_ Regina had only said _she_ couldn't go to Henry's room, not the other way around. Mia dropped her backpack on the floor and flopped down next to her brother on her bed.

Henry turned to her. "Where were you?"

Mia stared. "Seriously? I'm not the one that went to Boston. You first."

* * *

Regina narrowed her eyes at her daughter's back as the little girl stomped up the stairs. Ever since they found out they were adopted, both of her children had been acting like ungrateful little brats. They had everything they could ever want, but they didn't appreciate any of it or anything she did for them.

They both had atrocious attitudes, but her daughter's was far worse than her son's. It seemed like the more Regina tried to rein in their behavior, the more her children pulled away from her.

Dr. Hopper said it wasn't just because they found out they were adopted. According to him, it was just the age. Apparently it was perfectly normal for ten year olds to talk back and have an attitude. Regina wondered if the 'doctor' that got his degree from _her_ curse even knew what he was talking about. This certainly wasn't _normal_ in the Enchanted Forest. She knew exactly what her mother would have done to her if _she'd_ shown her an ounce of the disrespect that her children were showing her. She shuddered slightly at the thought.

She flinched when she heard a door slam upstairs and let out a frustrated sigh, stifling the urge to go up there right that second to deal with Mia's attitude.

She turned back to her children's birth mother with a forced smile. "I'm sorry. I really don't know what's gotten into them. And Henry…dragging you out of your life like this."

The blonde woman shrugged it off. "Kid's having a rough time. It happens."

A rough time? How exactly were her children having a rough time? Regina wondered what Henry had told this woman.

"You have to understand. Ever since I became mayor, balancing things has been tricky. You have a job, I assume?" She waited for the blonde woman to fill in the blank.

"Uh, I keep busy, yeah."

Regina pushed aside her annoyance at the answer – or lack thereof. She could easily find out just what it was that the woman did. "Imagine having another one on top of it - that's being a single mom. So I push for order. Am I strict? I suppose. But I do it for their own good. I want them to excel in life. I don't think that makes me evil. Do you?"

"I'm…sure he's just saying that because of the fairy tale thing."

"What fairy tale thing?" Regina tried to keep her expression innocent.

"Oh, you know, his book…how he thinks everyone's a cartoon character from it?" The woman said with a soft chuckle…like she thought it was cute. "Like his shrink is Jiminy Cricket?"

"I'm sorry, I really have no idea what you're talking about," Regina said with false calm.

"You know what? It's none of my business." The woman gave her a small smile. "He's your kid. And I really should be heading back."

At least this woman understood _that_. Henry and Mia were _her_ children. This woman may have given birth to them, but _Regina_ was the one who had done everything else.

* * *

"Graham! Henry and Mia have run away again! We have to-" The mayor stopped speaking abruptly when she noticed Emma in the jail cell. "What is she doing here?" She turned to Emma. "Do you know where they are?"

Okay, that sounded like an accusation.

"Honey, I haven't seen him since I dropped him at your house. And I have a pretty good alibi," Emma said pointedly with a glance at the cell she was currently in.

"Yeah, well, they weren't in their rooms this morning."

"Did you try their friends?" Emma asked.

"They _are_ best friends…they're practically joined at the hip. And since I don't know where either one of them is, that doesn't really help me here. Any other brilliant ideas?"

Emma's next thought was to check their computers for emails, but they probably didn't need to email each other since they lived in the same house. There might be other clues as to where they had gone though. "Did you check their computers?"

"You've known Henry for a day. I've known Henry and Mia their whole lives. What makes you think you're the expert on finding them?"

"Finding people is what I do. Here's an idea – how about you guys let me out and I'll help you find them?" Emma offered.

Roughly ten minutes later Emma was in Henry's bedroom. Blue was his favorite color judging by the blue and white striped wallpaper and the blue, grey and white quilted bedspread. There was stuff everywhere…the bookshelf was filled with books and board games, there were drawings and posters on the walls, and planets were hanging from the ceiling over the bed. It was a nice room filled with all the stuff a kid could ever want.

Emma sat down at the kid's desk in front of his computer and went through his inbox and browser history. He had cleared both, but she knew how to recover the data. As she went through his email, she found a receipt for a website called whosyourmomma. _Nice_. So _that_ was how he found her…

The website was expensive, and the kid had paid for it with his teacher's credit card. When they went to talk to the teacher, it was pretty clear she knew nothing about it and the kid had swiped the credit card from her at some point.

Emma had been trying _not_ to think of these kids as _hers_ , but she couldn't ignore the similarities between herself and her…son. She was actually really impressed that he found her when _she_ hadn't even been able to find her birth parents yet – and finding people was literally what she did. And the running away and minor theft…well, the kid could have gotten those tendencies from her _or_ Neal. The only difference was that _she_ was running from overcrowded group homes when she was his age, and he was running from…what? The adoptive mother was kind of a hard-ass, but she didn't seem _that_ bad. But if _both_ kids were running away from her, maybe she was.

 **Author's Note:** For Regina fans, she is probably my favorite character after Emma. I'm trying to show some of her point of view and will keep doing that if I continue this, which I will do if people seem to like it. I'm not going to change the way she acted in season one or her relationship with Henry though so she isn't going to suddenly be super nice. I also wrote a rocky relationship with Mia for a reason, although Mia does not think Regina is 'the Evil Queen.'


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** Thank you to everyone who reviewed the first chapter!

This chapter jumps around to different point of views a bit more than I normally do and I feel like the flow is kind of awkward at points because of that, but I really wanted to show all of these points of views and needed the content that I included to set the stage for the next few chapters. I hope it's not too disjointed this way and you all enjoy it. Any questions or ideas of what you'd like to see are welcome :)

 **Chapter 2**

Emma followed Mary Margaret's directions to a playground with an old wooden structure designed to look like a castle. Their teacher was right…that was where the twins were. She could see the form of a boy and a girl sitting on the railing of the highest platform of the play structure, with their legs dangling over the edge. They were in their own little world, deep in conversation, and didn't notice her approaching.

Emma stopped about a foot away from the castle, waiting for the kids to notice her. She couldn't help overhearing part of their conversation, and realized they were talking about her.

"You can't tell me you didn't feel anything when you met her."

Mia offered Henry a sympathetic smile. "Not feeling anything's better than feeling what you're feeling right now." The girl swiveled around to the purple backpack behind her and then turned back to Henry after several seconds with a candy bar in the palm of her outstretched hand. "Here. You look like you need chocolate. Chocolate makes everything better."

Henry glanced at the candy bar, but didn't actually take it. "Thanks, but I don't think chocolate will make this better. I thought things would change when I brought her back," he said unhappily, kicking his feet a little.

Mia gave him a small, apologetic smile. "I know."

"I know _you_ didn't think they would," Henry muttered.

"I mean, I wouldn't have left my favorite thing in her car," was Mia's response. "Now your book's in Boston."

"You mean this book?" Emma called, getting their attention.

She expected Henry to be happy to see her, or at least his book, but he still seemed almost…depressed. She didn't know what to expect from Mia and watched as the girl froze for a second and then slowly looked at her in surprise.

Now that they knew she was there and she knew she wouldn't startle them, Emma walked around to the rickety wooden stairs and climbed up to join them. Henry scooted all the way over to one side of the railing to make room for her in the middle. Mia shot him an annoyed look, but grudgingly moved over enough for Emma to sit. It was a tight fit with all three of them up there, and Emma noticed Mia was carefully avoiding any physical contact with her like she had the plague.

Emma decided to start with Henry. He was the easier kid to talk to.

"You left this in my car," she said as she handed the thick leather-bound book to him.

Henry took the book wordlessly. He clutched it tightly and looked over at the clock tower.

Okay, so much for Henry being easy. Emma glanced at Mia, unsure where to even begin with her.

Henry had walked into her apartment like he owned the place, helped himself to juice, and started talking like they knew each other…like she was…well, his mom. Mia had yet to say one word to her.

Henry had said his twin wanted to meet her, but was afraid _she_ wouldn't want to meet them. The little girl was playing with a loose thread at the end of the sleeve of her navy pea coat and avoiding eye contact. Emma knew she would have to make the first move with her.

"Mia? We sort of met last night. I'm Emma."

"Hi," Mia said softly without looking up to meet her gaze.

It was funny…Henry hadn't shut up once in the car the whole drive from Boston to Storybrooke, and Emma couldn't get more than one word out of Mia. Emma felt like she should say _something_ to get her to talk, but what was she supposed to say?

After a long, awkward silence where she drew a complete blank, Emma turned back to Henry, who was still staring at the clock tower, and followed his gaze. "Still hasn't moved, huh?"

"I was hoping that when I brought you back, things would change here. That the final battle would begin."

Emma glanced at Mia out of the corner of her eye to gauge her reaction to the battle stuff. The little girl was rolling her eyes. She _didn't_ believe in the fairy tale thing then, but it didn't look like she was going to argue with Henry about it either. The adoptive mom hadn't even known the kid thought everyone was a fairy tale character. So that left Emma to handle it. _Great_ …she'd known him for less than twenty-four hours and she had no idea _how_ to handle it.

"I'm not fighting any battles kid," Emma told Henry point-blank.

"Yes, you are," Henry insisted. "Because it's your destiny. You're going to bring back the happy endings."

Emma let out a frustrated sigh. "Can you cut it with the book crap?"

"You don't have to be hostile. I know you like me…I can tell," Henry said with easy confidence that reminded Emma of Neal.

"Yeah, that's why she gave us away. I always give stuff I like away," Mia muttered sarcastically.

Emma was shocked. "It isn't that I didn't like you guys. Twins are a little different than a favorite shirt or toy."

"You're just pushing us away because we make you feel guilty. It's okay…I know why you gave us away. You wanted to give us our best chance," Henry told her with maturity that was beyond his years.

The kid was right…Emma _did_ feel guilty. There had been a small part of her that wanted to keep them, but another part of her had known their best chance _wasn't_ with her. She didn't expect a ten year old to get that though. "How do you know that?"

"Because it's the same reason Snow White gave you away," Henry said like his reasoning would make total sense.

Mia gave Henry a completely exasperated look, and face-palmed.

Emma stifled a laugh at the girl's exaggerated reaction, not wanting Henry to think she was laughing at him. She had played along with the fairy tale thing during the drive from Boston, but she didn't actually think it was funny. Henry really believed it, and it was...well, crazy. Emma was worried about him.

"Listen to me, kid. I'm not in any book. I'm a real person. And I'm no savior. You were right about one thing though – I wanted you guys to have your best chance. But it's not with me. Come on, let's go." Emma lowered herself down to the ground from the platform and watched as the twins came down the stairs.

* * *

Emma tried to stay strong when Henry was practically begging her to stay. She knew she wasn't what was best for the twins when she had them, and nothing had changed. Well, she wasn't eighteen anymore, but she still didn't think she was mother material. The idea of being their mom when she'd never been a mom before and didn't know how to be one scared the hell out of her. No, these kids had a mom, and it wasn't her…it was Regina.

It would have been far easier – on her, at least – if she didn't feel anything for them, but Emma couldn't help feeling for Henry and Mia. She _did_ have them, and she saw enough of herself in them that she couldn't forget they were _hers_. Her _what_ though - her kids…her family…her responsibility? She didn't know. But in spite of her best efforts to keep her walls up, Emma had connected with Henry in a way that made her think maybe she could be something to him…not his mom, but _something_.

When she took Henry home after he ran away for the second time in less than twenty-four hours, he pushed past Regina and into the house without a word to the adoptive mom. Emma wondered if the little runaway would actually stay put this time.

Mia was right behind her brother, also ignoring the adoptive mom completely.

Once both kids were inside, Regina stepped out onto the porch and thanked her.

"Henry seems to have taken quite a shine to you," Regina observed.

Emma was glad the adoptive mom could see that Henry liked her. Sure the whole birth mother and adoptive mom thing was awkward – for everyone involved - but if they could figure out a way for her to be in Henry and Mia's lives somehow, it would be a good thing for the twins…wouldn't it? That was what Henry wanted, and even though Mia didn't seem all that interested right now, Emma thought the girl might want to know where she came from someday.

Emma didn't know how to start that conversation with the adoptive mom and ended up rambling nervously about wishing she wouldn't have to be alone right before Henry showed up at her doorstep.

The adoptive mom's expression turned cold and her eyes narrowed. She made it pretty clear that Emma was _not_ welcome in the twins' lives - or the town…even going so far as to threaten Emma if she didn't leave.

Emma stared at the adoptive mom's retreating back. The woman had just destroyed any hope Emma had of being…well, anything to Henry and Mia. She swallowed the disappointment. She had a feeling she'd just seen the real Regina – and the woman wasn't as nice as she'd seemed at first.

Okay, fine, Emma would leave, but she had to know these kids would be okay with the adoptive mom. "Do you love them?" She called after the other woman.

The adoptive mom hesitated just long enough to make her answer suspect. She spun around, scoffing, "Of course I do."

It wasn't a lie exactly, but the answer hadn't been automatic and it should have been…shouldn't it? Emma knew in that moment she couldn't leave, at least not yet. Henry – her…son – had begged her to stay for a week, and that was what she was going to do.

* * *

Regina kept her hands down by her sides uselessly, fighting the urge to hug Henry and Mia…she didn't think they would want her to hug them, and it killed her.

Both of her children had been pushing her away since the moment they found out they were adopted – thanks to her daughter breaking into the locked file cabinet in her office and rifling through her files…specifically the file that contained her Certificate of Adoption.

Why was it that ten year old girls always seemed to destroy her happiness? When the little girl in question was Snow, it was easy for Regina to hold onto the grudge and do everything she could to get revenge on her. It was different with Mia…Regina could never hate her own daughter the way she hated Snow White, but there was still a part of her that blamed the girl for destroying their happy little family. No, she had not quite forgiven Mia yet, but she still loved her.

And now…well, now Henry wasn't just angry that she didn't tell them they were adopted…he also thought she was evil. Technically he was right…she _was_ evil – she was the Evil Queen back in the Enchanted Forest. But they weren't in the Enchanted Forest anymore, and Regina didn't want her own children to see her as evil…she just wanted them to see her as their mother.

At least Mia didn't believe she was evil, nor did she seem to want the woman who had given them up for adoption back in her life.

Yesterday the birth mother sat in her house and told her that she did not want to have any contact and that Regina absolutely did not need to be worried about her. And yet here the woman was less than twenty-four hours later, back again, and this time seeming to expect an open invitation back into the twins' lives. Well, she wasn't going to get one. Regina wasted no time in reminding her what a closed adoption was.

"No!" Regina yelled, cutting the rambling blonde woman off. This was not a negotiation…the conversation was over…whatever the birth mother thought she had with Regina's children was over. "You don't get to speak. You don't get to do anything. You gave up that right when you tossed them away. Do you know what a closed adoption is? It's what you asked for. You have no legal right to Henry and Mia, and you're going to be held to that. So I suggest you get in your car and you leave this town…because if you don't, I will destroy you if it's the last thing I do. Goodbye, Miss Swan."

And then the birth mother who had tossed Henry and Mia away actually had the audacity to question Regina's love for them. Of course she loved them!

* * *

Mia expected one heck of a lecture from her adoptive mother and to be grounded for at least a week. Hell, Mia had been grounded for a lot less in the past. She felt like she was almost always grounded…usually for her 'mouth' or 'attitude.' But Regina seemed too worried about Henry's book to be bothered with punishing them.

Mia felt bad for her brother, but she didn't really care about the stupid book and was just relieved to avoid the punishment she thought she had coming, even if it was only temporary. She left the house while Regina was talking to Henry about the book – or trying to anyway. She wasn't going to stick around to see if Regina remembered to ground her.

Whenever Regina finished with him, Henry would find her at Granny's. They always went to Granny's for cocoa when they had time before school. Their adoptive mom was a good cook, but homemade cocoa just wasn't the same as Granny's.

The sight of the yellow Volkswagen Bug parked on the street in front of Granny's stopped Mia in her tracks. In spite of Henry practically begging her to stay, Emma had said she was _not_ staying. So what the heck was the woman still doing there?

Mia stood on the sidewalk outside Granny's for a minute, considering leaving without getting her cocoa just to avoid an awkward conversation with her birth mother. But no…she couldn't just leave. Henry would be there soon.

She took a deep breath, trying to work up the courage to go into the diner. It was _her_ diner… _her_ town. She shouldn't be the one who had to leave…Emma should – and she should do it before Henry saw her and got his hopes up. Mia knew he _would_ get his hopes up only to be disappointed again when their birth mother really did leave.

Mia opened the door and looked around, not seeing Emma anywhere. With a sigh of relief, she sat down in her usual booth and ordered two cocoas. She couldn't relax completely, not when the blonde woman could make an appearance at any moment.

As she sipped her cocoa, Mia saw Regina through the window. She peered out the window and watched her adoptive mother stride through the door of the bed-and-breakfast…the bed-and-breakfast Emma had to be staying at since it was the only place to stay in Storybrooke.

This should be good. Mia shoved a ten-dollar bill on the table to pay for the untouched cocoa she'd ordered for Henry and her own drink, slung her backpack over her shoulders, and followed in Regina's footsteps.

Once she was in the bed-and-breakfast, Mia heard voices coming from the hallway, but couldn't hear what they were saying. She needed to get closer. She peeked around the corner and immediately saw her adoptive mother. Lucky for her, Regina didn't see her. Regina was standing in the doorway of one of the rooms. Her back was facing the hallway…and Mia.

Mia debated with herself on whether she should move any closer. She wanted to know what her adoptive mom and her birth mom were saying… it had to be about her and Henry…she thought she deserved to know. She kept her footsteps light and was careful to move quietly as she crept closer. She stopped two doors down from where her adoptive mom was, but close enough to see and hear everything, and pressed her back against the door of the room, hoping the doorway she was standing in would hide her from view at least partially.

Mia watched silently as her adoptive mom gave the other woman a basket of apples and told her to enjoy them on her way home. That was…nice, especially for Regina. It was almost _too_ nice. Regina wasn't usually nice to anyone except her and Henry.

"Actually, I'm going to stay for awhile." _What_?

" _What?!_ "

Mia didn't realize she'd said – okay, _yelled_ \- what she was thinking out loud until Regina whipped around and Emma poked her head out the doorway. She realized the doorway she was standing in was _not_ a good hiding spot and shrank back under both of their gazes.

Mia waited for Regina to lecture her for eavesdropping, but she didn't. After a moment, Mia continued uncertainly. "What does 'awhile' even mean? I mean, couldn't you see how upset Henry was yesterday when you said you weren't going to stay? He doesn't even know you…not really, and he really wants you to stay. If he gets to know you and then you leave, it'll be even worse."

Emma opened her mouth to say something. "I-"

Regina turned back to the blonde woman and cut her off. "My daughter is right. My son doesn't need you confusing him. He has enough issues."

Mia stiffened, not liking Regina's choice of words. She knew it wasn't normal for anyone their age to believe in fairy tales and believing their adoptive mom was the Evil Queen was taking things a bit far, but Henry was…well, he was her best friend…her _only_ real friend…her twin…her other half. She didn't like it when the other kids at school made fun of him for carrying a book of fairy tales around everywhere, and she hated that their own mother was acting like he was crazy now.

"All due respect, Madam Mayor, the fact that you have now threatened me twice in the last twelve hours makes me want to stay more." Wait, that was why Emma wanted to stay? Not for them – or for Henry, but to spite Regina. And when had her mom first threatened their birth mother? How had Mia and Henry missed _that_?

Mia stared in disbelief as she tried to process what was happening. "That's why you're staying now when you weren't going to before? Not because Henry asked you…begged you to stay?"

Emma's expression had been hard when she was facing off with Regina, but it crumpled into an almost desperate look when she turned to Mia. Her eyes were sad and were pleading with Mia for…something, but for what -understanding…forgiveness…a second chance? "I just want to make sure you guys are okay."

* * *

" _What?!_ "

Emma winced slightly at the surprised shriek – and not just because of the high-pitch, but because of how agitated the shrieking girl sounded. She didn't recognize her…daughter's voice, but she knew that was who it was. Who else could it be?

Sure enough when Emma poked her head out the door, she saw Mia standing in the doorway of the room two doors down, where the girl had apparently been listening in on their conversation. She looked around, but saw no sign of Henry in the hallway. Where was the kid that would be happy she was staying when she needed him?

"What does 'awhile' even mean?" Mia continued in a confused tone. "I mean, couldn't you see how upset Henry was yesterday when you said you weren't going to stay? He doesn't even know you…not really, and he really wants you to stay. If he gets to know you and then you leave, it'll be even worse."

"I-"

Regina cut Emma off before she could try to assuage Mia's fears. "My daughter is right. My son doesn't need you confusing him. He has enough issues."

"All due respect, Madam Mayor," Emma started in a way that made it clear she didn't think the other woman was due one bit of respect, "The fact that you have now threatened me twice in the last twelve hours makes me want to stay more."

Mia stared with her mouth open slightly, the corners tugging downward into a frown. "That's why you're staying now when you weren't going to before? Not because Henry asked you…begged you to stay?"

Emma didn't know how to explain. She was staying for Henry and Mia…okay, maybe more for Henry than for Mia. Henry was the one that wanted her there and he seemed more troubled. Emma wanted – no, _needed_ \- to know that they'd be okay if – no, _when_ – she left, and right now she didn't know if they would be…not with Regina. But she didn't know how to say that, at least not without accusing Regina of something – of what though? She wasn't going to accuse the adoptive mom of anything without evidence - evidence she hoped didn't exist. She just couldn't shake the feeling that there was something… _off_ with the other woman.

Emma knew she had to make Mia understand that she was staying for them…for Henry and Mia, even if Mia didn't want her there. She just didn't know how to do that. "I just want to make sure you guys are okay," she said, hoping the kid would hear the sincerity in her voice and believe her.

"They're fine, dear," Regina said in a patronizing tone that Emma did _not_ appreciate.

Ten year olds who were fine didn't generally have shrinks. Emma would have said that if it had just been her and Regina, but she stopped herself because Mia was there. Instead, all she said was a vague, "I think we have different definitions of fine."

Mia glared, looking a little offended. "We're fine! If that's why you're staying, you can go now."

Regina arched her eyebrows, looking almost…amused. "You heard my daughter, Miss Swan. It's time for you to go."

"Sorry," Emma said unapologetically, "but I also heard Henry when he said he wanted me to stay. Doesn't what he wants matter to you?"

"He's ten. What he wants and what's best for him are two entirely different things. You would know that if you were a mother, but you are neither a mother nor a qualified therapist," Regina said pointedly. "Between me and his therapist, any problems Henry has are being taken care of. Take my advice, Miss Swan - only one of us knows what's best for Henry and Mia."

"Yeah, I'm starting to think you're right about that," Emma told her, eyes narrowing slightly.

Mia looked from Emma to Regina with a furrowed brow. It was clear from her confused expression that she didn't fully understand the insults and threats, but she understood that something was going on between them.

Regina, however, understood perfectly and her eyes flashed in warning. "Don't underestimate me. You have no idea what I'm capable of."

Emma's expression hardened. "There you go threatening me again."

"It's not a threat, dear. It's a word of advice you'd be wise to take," Regina said tightly. "Come on, Mia."

Emma watched as the adoptive mom put a proprietary hand on the little girl's shoulder and steered her toward the exit.

For her part, Mia did not look back once.

Emma felt a pang in her chest. Her daughter hated her, and she had a feeling this conversation had only made it worse, but she didn't know how to fix things with the girl.

* * *

Mia turned to Regina when they were on the street outside of the bed-and-breakfast, looking upset. It had been months since either of her children had turned to her for comfort so Regina was surprised to say the least.

"Henry wants her to stay _so_ bad."

"And you don't?" Regina questioned.

"No! She didn't want us, and I don't want her!"

Regina suppressed a smile. She could hear the hurt in her daughter's voice. Mia may not be her daughter biologically, but her adopted daughter _was_ like her. Mia held onto hurt the same way Regina did. Regina would be shocked if the little girl she raised forgave the birth mother that had tossed her and her brother away any time soon.

"She doesn't want to stay…she's just pretending like she does. She's going to hurt Henry. You're the mayor. Can't you _make_ her leave?" Mia looked up at her like she thought Regina could fix everything, and Regina realized her daughter hadn't looked at her like that in years.

Mia thought that Regina could just kick the blonde woman out of Storybrooke. She couldn't – not legally. She would have been able to do much worse than that when she was queen. But she could use the power she _did_ have as mayor to make the birth mother's stay there very uncomfortable. Her smile turned into a smirk. "Don't worry, sweetie. I'm handling it."

Mia gave her a half-hearted smile, but she still looked troubled.

Regina wrapped her arms around the little's girl's shoulders and pulled her in for a quick hug. "I said I'm handling it," she reiterated, rubbing the girl's back. "All _you_ need to worry about is your history test."

"I'm ready for it. I know everything there is to know about Ancient Greece. Ask me anything," Mia challenged with more of her usual spunk.

"That won't be necessary," Regina told her in an amused tone. "Do you want me to drive you or are you walking?"

"Walking," Mia answered immediately. "Bye, Mom!"

Regina watched to make sure her daughter was walking to school and not anywhere else – both of her children had developed a bad habit of skipping school. It was only when Mia was approaching the school building that Regina got in her Mercedes.

* * *

Mia sat on a bench in front of the elementary school and looked around, wondering where her brother was.

As she was looking for her twin, Mia caught a glimpse of a now-familiar blonde woman on the front page of the morning paper as a teacher walked past her with the paper tucked under his arm. She gaped at it for a long second and then tilted her head to the side to see if she could see _why_ their birth mother was in the paper.

The headline was easy enough to read - _Stranger Destroys Historic Sign_ , and right underneath it said _Alcohol Involved_. Mia looked at the picture of Emma again – it was a mugshot! Had their birth mother been arrested?! At least no one knew she and Henry were related to the woman! _That_ would be embarrassing.

The print of the actual article was too small for Mia to read at any kind of distance. She would have to try to find the article online later. But now…now she had to find Henry and warn him.

Mia was starting to wonder if maybe her brother was waiting for her at the castle. She was about to slip away from school when she saw Henry - _with_ Emma. It looked like they were having a nice chat.

Henry gave Mia an almost triumphant grin and then glanced at Emma. He was practically brimming with excitement. Mia stiffened, crossing her arms in front of her chest defensively as they approached.

Emma offered her a weak smile.

Mia glared. Mia kept glaring as her brother told their birth mother he would see her later, only losing the deadly glare when Henry grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the main entrance.

* * *

"It's good to see his smile back."

Emma glanced at Henry and Mia's teacher in surprise. "I didn't do anything. Well, I clearly did _something_ to tick Mia off," she said ruefully.

"She's…prickly," Mary Margaret said, seemingly choosing her words carefully. Emma remembered what the woman had said about the twins being like any adopted children who wrestled with the question of why anyone would give them away. "And you stayed."

"Henry's the only one who is happy about that right now," Emma told her.

The teacher lifted her eyebrows. "I take it the mayor knows you're still here?"

"Oh, she knows." Emma decided to see if the teacher would share anything about Regina. "What is her deal? She's not a great people person. How did she get elected?"

Apparently no one was brave enough to run against Regina because everyone was scared of her. Emma didn't scare that easy.

Mary Margaret told Emma that she felt guilty for giving Henry the story book that made him think his mom was the evil queen.

"I'm not in the book," Emma lied when the conversation turned to who the kid thought everyone was in the book. She wasn't going to tell this woman that Henry thought she was her daughter. "Can I ask you a favor? Regina mentioned the kid has a therapist. Do you know where I can find the doctor?"

Emma knew if she wanted to help the kid, she had to find out what was causing the fairy tale obsession. It was a little difficult to have an actual conversation when the kid was telling her that she was the daughter of Snow White. If she couldn't figure out a way to get through to him, she wouldn't do him any good staying in Storybrooke.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"She stayed!"

Mia knew this would happen…she _knew_ her brother would get his hopes up if he saw Emma. And somehow she didn't think Regina would be comforting him when their birth mother disappointed him. So that would leave Mia to pick up the pieces when their birth mother broke her brother.

Mia sighed. "I hate to burst your bubble, but she only stayed because she wants to make sure we're okay."

Henry glanced at her in confusion, frowning slightly. "So?"

Mia stared at him, her eyes darkening. " _So_ she thinks we're _not_ okay."

Emma thought there was something _wrong_ with them. Henry telling the woman that she was a savior from his book of fairy tales and her parents were Snow White and Prince Charming probably hadn't helped their case there.

"We aren't okay. Our mom's evil," Henry said matter-of-factly.

Mia merely rolled her eyes and bumped his shoulder gently. "If she was _really_ evil, you'd probably be locked in the dungeons for running away to Boston," she told him with a teasing glint in her eyes.

Mia had never really disagreed with her brother on their mom being evil because Regina _had_ been different since they found out they were adopted…maybe not evil, but not really nice either, at least not to her.

She was surprised how nice her mom had been earlier…almost like before Mia found the Certificate of Adoption. She hoped it meant their adoptive mom had _finally_ forgiven her for that.

"She doesn't have dungeons here," Henry told her seriously. "But she did back in the Enchanted Forest. She locked up anyone who tried to help Snow White."

"Ms. Blanchard?" Mia said, knowing who her brother thought everyone in town was by now. "If she could lock her up during math, that'd be great."

Henry shot her a look. "Not funny. Ms. Blanchard's good. She's on our side."

"Hey, you hate math, too," Mia said defensively. "Fractions are evil."

"I don't know…we got pizza," Henry reminded her with a small grin. Ms. Blanchard tried to use the whole pizza being divided into slices to teach them about fractions.

"Yeah, that was pretty cool," Mia admitted.

* * *

Archie knew who she was and thought she was there to see him about her, not Henry. The shrink held up a copy of the morning paper. Emma stared in disbelief…her picture was on the front page, along with a headline that would make everyone in the town think she was drunk when she crashed into the town sign. She sighed, hoping the twins hadn't seen it. No kid Emma had ever known actually read the paper, but that didn't mean they wouldn't see it if Regina had a copy at home. Heck, Regina might actually _show_ it to them.

Despite his weak protest, Archie ended up answering her questions. Henry only got the storybook from his teacher a month ago, but he had been seeing Archie for longer than that. That meant they couldn't blame all of the kid's problems on the book. Emma knew who was to blame.

"So it's Regina, isn't it?" Emma asked.

"Uh, his mother is, uh, a very complicated woman," Archie said nervously. Was the shrink scared of Regina, too? "And over the years her attempts to try to bring Henry and Mia close to her only backfired."

Emma frowned. "Wait, Henry _and_ Mia? Mia's in therapy, too?" The girl hadn't seemed all that troubled to her.

"She only had one session. Um, she didn't say anything, and her, uh, mother didn't schedule another session."

"And here I thought it was just me that she was freezing out," Emma said wryly.

Archie offered her a sympathetic smile. "It can take children time to feel comfortable enough to talk in therapy…in, um, any situation that's new really. Your presence here in Storybrooke and, uh, their lives is still very new. It's a big change for them."

"You think it'd be better if I left?" Emma asked.

"I never said that. It's natural for, um, children who have been adopted to want to know their birth parents, you know?"

Emma nodded slowly. "That's what Henry wants." But Mia did _not_ want her there. Whatever she did, one kid would be upset.

"You're very important to him. We talked about you a lot." Archie hesitated. "Why don't you take a look at his file? Um, see what I mean?" He took a thick file folder out of his filing cabinet and handed it to her.

Emma accepted the file, but eyed him curiously. This was almost too easy. He hadn't even wanted to talk to her about Henry at first and now he was just giving her the kid's file. "Why are you doing this?"

"Just, uh, see that I get it back, okay?" Archie said instead of answering. "And, Ms. Swan? Just - for the sake of the boy, be careful how you handle his belief system. Destroying his imagination would be…devastating."

"Thanks for the advice, doc." Emma had no idea how to handle the strange fairy tale obsession and would take any help she could get. "Any suggestions on how to get through to Mia?" Emma asked hopefully.

Archie looked surprised. "Henry talks about Mia a lot. Henry and Mia are, uh, very close. Over the last few months, Mia, uh, hasn't had a very healthy relationship with her mother."

"Just the last few months?" Emma said dryly.

Archie merely nodded. "And that has only brought her even closer to her brother. They've become, um, overly dependent on each other."

Emma frowned. The way he talked about the twins, it was almost like they were one person, but they weren't…they were two entirely different kids. They seemed as different as night and day to her.

"But she doesn't believe in the fairy tale thing…does she?"

Archie offered her a small smile. "No. She doesn't have quite the imagination that Henry does. These fairy tales…they're Henry's language. He has no idea how to express complex emotion so he's translating the best he can. This is how he communicates when he's using this book to help deal with his problems. Mia…she shuts down emotionally when she's experiencing complex emotions that she doesn't know how to deal with." Well, that sounded familiar. Emma did that, too. "She really needs to talk to someone about her problems instead of internalizing them."

"Someone who isn't ten," Emma muttered under her breath. "So that's your advice? Talk to her even though she doesn't want to talk to me?"

Emma knew that would be easier said than done.

"I wouldn't say she doesn't want to talk to you. She's just…she's scared." Archie tried to explain.

"Funny, that's what Henry said, too. He said she was, uh, scared that I wouldn't want to meet them," Emma said guiltily.

"She doesn't know if you're going to be in life, or, um, how you're going to be in her life. I think she'll talk to you when she figures that out," Archie told her.

Emma raised her eyebrows. "Wow, you got all that from one session where she didn't say anything. You must be one heck of a shrink."

Archie met her gaze. "It's an educated guess."

"Sorry," Emma said, immediately feeling bad for snapping at him.

The shrink didn't deserve it…he was just trying to help. The entire conversation had just made Emma feel even guiltier than she already did. How could she leave at the end of the week if it would hurt these kids? She had never wanted them to know the pain of rejection like she did.

* * *

"Why are we sneaking back into school?" Henry asked, digging in his heels as Mia tried to drag him back to the school building. "It's recess."

"Come _on_ ," Mia said impatiently. "I need to show you something."

"Really? What?" Henry asked curiously.

"Emma made the front page of the newspaper," Mia told him. She hadn't wanted to tell him until she could _show_ him, and there hadn't been enough time before school started.

"She did?"

Henry stopped fighting her and let her pull him into the school.

Mia looked around for any teachers who would send them back outside. Seeing none, she led the way into the computer lab.

They didn't turn on the lights since they weren't supposed to be there. They sat down in a dark corner of the room, out of view of any windows.

As she waited for the website to load on her computer, Mia turned to Henry to try to warn him. "It's not good news, but I thought you deserved to know."

Since it had been front-page news, the article in question popped up. Henry stared at Emma's mugshot for several long seconds without saying anything. Why was he being so quiet?

"I told you it wasn't good news," Mia said, starting to feel a little defensive.

Why did she feel guilty? _She_ didn't do anything wrong…their birth mother was the one who was drinking alcohol and driving. Her brother needed to know who he was spending time with. Maybe it would make it easier when the woman left.

"She was drinking alcohol and driving," Mia added after a moment, waiting for some kind of reaction from Henry.

Henry shook his head. "No, she wasn't."

Mia looked at him in disbelief. "She hit the town sign."

"It's because she was trying to leave, and she can't leave without breaking the curse," Henry said. "I thought she could, but the curse must have stopped her. I know you don't believe me, but it's true. She's the savior. Why else would she stay?"

Mia sighed wearily. "I told you – she just wants to make sure we're okay."

Henry actually smiled at that. "Because she cares about us. I knew it. She likes us."

Mia stared. "She wants to make sure we're okay. That means she thinks we're _not_ okay. She thinks there's something wrong with us. How are you happy about that?"

Henry looked at her in surprise. "She told you all this? That she thinks there's something wrong with us?"

"Not exactly…" Mia reluctantly filled him in on her morning.

* * *

"How was school? Where's Henry?" Regina asked when Mia walked into her adoptive mom's office without Henry.

Regina had pulled them out of science to tell them that Emma was arrested…again. Somehow Henry had convinced Ms. Blanchard to bail the woman out of jail after school.

"He's with Ms. Blanchard bailing Emma out of jail." Mia only told the truth because she knew Graham would tell Regina.

Regina frowned in confusion. "And why is Ms. Blanchard doing that? She and that woman don't even know each other."

"I don't know." Mia shrugged, shifting uncomfortably under the weight of her backpack. She shrugged it off and dropped in on the floor, ignoring the look Regina gave her.

"What have I told you about leaving your backpack in the middle of the floor?" Regina asked with her hands on her hips.

"Not to do it," Mia mumbled, picking it up grudgingly. She walked further into her adoptive mom's office and plopped down on the couch, setting her backpack down by her feet.

Regina offered her a half-smile. "Thank you."

"So did Emma really break into the shrink's office?" Mia asked curiously.

Regina lifted her brow. "You think I would lie about something like that?"

"I think you want Emma to leave," Mia said carefully.

Regina eyed her carefully. "I thought you wanted her to leave, too?"

"I do," Mia insisted.

Regina furrowed her brow. "So what's the problem?"

Mia looked down, staring at her shoes. "I just want to know the truth."

Regina studied her for a moment. "I want her to leave, not take up valuable space in jail. She went to see Dr. Hopper. Only he and Ms. Swan know what happened after that, but Sheriff Graham found her in her room with Henry's file."

Mia just nodded mutely. She didn't know why that bothered her, but it did.

"How was your history test?" Regina asked.

Mia knew her adoptive mom was trying to change the subject. "I think I missed two or three," she said honestly.

Regina frowned slightly. "Out of how many questions?"

"Like fifty," Mia told her.

Regina gave her a rare look of approval, smiling widely. "That's great, sweetie. I'm proud of you."

"How proud?" Mia asked. Her mom had been known to reward them for good grades.

Regina gave her an amused look. "What did you have in mind?"

"New Nike's," Mia told her excitedly.

"What's wrong with your old shoes?"

"Nothing," Mia admitted. "But now you can build your own on the website. I want purple and black shoes."

"I suppose we can do that as a reward _if_ you get an A," Regina agreed. "When do you get your test back?"

"I don't-" Mia stopped talking when they heard a loud noise outside. She looked at her adoptive mom with wide eyes. "What was _that_?"

"I don't know," Regina muttered.

They both moved over to the window and saw Emma standing underneath the apple tree with a _chainsaw_. What, was she crazy?

"What is she _doing_?" Mia asked in an incredulous tone.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out," Regina told her, standing up. "Stay here."

Mia didn't listen. She followed her adoptive mom outside.

Regina practically ran over to confront Emma. "What the hell are you doing?"

Emma turned to Regina calmly. "Picking apples," she said casually.

"You're out of your mind," Regina practically growled.

At the moment Mia had to agree, but she didn't think it would be smart to tell the woman with a chainsaw that. "Mom, don't make the woman with a chainsaw mad."

Emma glanced at Mia in surprise, like she was just then noticing her. Her eyes widened and there was a flash of something that might have been regret in them before she turned back to Regina with a fierce expression. "No. You are if you think a shoddy frame job's enough to scare me off."

"A frame job?" Mia questioned, furrowing her brow.

"Yes. I don't know what she told you, Mia, but I was set up."

Mia looked from Emma to Regina, not knowing what – or _who_ – to believe. She blinked in confusion. Had her adoptive mom lied to her? Or was her birth mother a con-artist like Regina had said?

"Don't listen to her!" Regina cried.

Emma snorted in disbelief, shaking her head slightly. She turned back to Regina. "You come after me one more time, I'm coming back for the rest of this tree because, sister, you have no idea what _I_ am capable of," she said in a low, dangerous tone.

Emma started to walk away.

"Your move," Emma called without looking back.

Mia turned to Regina. "Is it true? Did you set her up?"

"Of course not. Mia, sweetie, I told you-"

"That she went to Dr. Hopper's office," Mia finished.

Regina nodded. "Yes."

"Can I go for a walk before homework?" Mia asked.

Regina eyed her suspiciously. "A walk? To where?"

Mia shrugged, scrambling for a lie her mom would buy. "To see if I can find Henry."

"Be back at 5:00 so we can go to dinner before Henry's therapy session," Regina told her after a moment.

* * *

Mia stood outside the shrink's office. Regina made her see him once after they found out they were adopted. Mia hadn't wanted to go and hadn't said a word the entire time she was in his office despite his attempts to get her to talk. Dr. Hopper was nice enough, but she _wasn't_ crazy and she did _not_ need a shrink.

She really didn't want to be there now, but it was the only way to know for sure which of the women was lying. She took a breath and walked in.

"No crime scene tape?" Mia said sarcastically, looking around the office.

Archie startled, almost jumping out of his chair. He looked up from his notes. "Mia? Wh-what are you doing here?"

"Not talking to you about my problems since apparently anyone can just come in from off the street and make off with your files," Mia said pointedly.

"I think we both know Emma isn't just anyone."

Mia crossed her arms in front of her chest defensively. "Don't shrink me," she said huffily. "Look, my mom said Emma was arrested for breaking into your office…but Emma said she was set up. Was she?"

"I'm sorry. I…I really can't-"

"Yes, you can! I'm not asking you to tell me what one of your patients said in a session. I'm just asking you to tell me the truth. Please. Just tell me." Mia looked at him pleadingly.

"If your, uh, mother knew you were here…"

Okay, asking nicely wasn't working. It was time to switch tactics.

"Which one?" Mia asked, hardening her expression.

Archie looked shocked – well, good, that was what she was going for.

"That's what you meant, right? When you said Emma isn't just anyone? You're right. She's my birth mother. And I think I deserve to know if she's a con-artist, don't you?"

"N-no, she's not," Archie said after a moment, looking down. "I'm sorry you thought that, Mia."

"Why did you lie?" Mia asked softly.

"Your, uh, mother is…um-"

 _Regina_.

"A liar," Mia finished for him.

She turned around and stalked out of there without another word, ignoring his pleas for her to come back and talk to him about it.

Now she knew which woman lied to her…her adoptive mom. She just didn't understand why Regina lied. Or why Regina even did it. The idea was to make Emma leave, not lock her up in a jail cell.

* * *

After Ms. Swan left, her daughter turned to her and gave her a questioning look. "Is it true? Did you set her up?"

Henry already questioned everything she said or did. Regina did not need Mia to start questioning her every move, too. She tried to keep her expression innocent. "Of course not. Mia, sweetie, I told you-"

"That she went to Dr. Hopper's office."

Regina nodded. "Yes."

That, at least, was true. She'd chosen her wording very carefully when she told her daughter that only Dr. Hopper and Ms. Swan knew what happened in his office.

"Can I go for a walk before homework?" Mia asked suddenly.

Regina wanted to say no, but she didn't want to ruin the first good day she'd had with her daughter in quite some time by starting a fight now, and Mia had never responded well to the word 'no.' She had always been a strong-willed little girl.

"A walk? To where?"

"To see if I can find Henry," Mia told her.

"Be back at 5:00 so we can go to dinner before Henry's therapy session," Regina said reluctantly.

Regina watched her daughter walk away with a sigh. She felt like she was losing Henry to the birth mother. She thought the frame job, as the blonde woman so eloquently put it, would turn her son against Ms. Swan. She could see now that it hadn't.

But she thought she knew what would. She smiled to herself as she went back up to her office. She had a phone call to make.

* * *

Emma knew the mayor had set her up to be arrested for stealing Henry's file, but she didn't realize she was being set up _again_ when Regina asked her to come to her office to talk, at least not until it was too late.

Oh, she knew wanting to make peace was a load of crap, and she went to the mayor's office ready for battle, but she never thought Henry would be hurt in the crossfire.

Regina was the kid's adoptive mom. It never even occurred to Emma that Regina would sacrifice his feelings just to win a battle with her.

To her surprise, Regina apologized to her even though they both knew she wasn't sorry. But still…the mayor didn't really seem like the type to apologize to anyone for anything. Regina went from apologizing to wanting to know what Emma was doing there if she wasn't trying to take the twins from her.

Emma tried to remember that this woman was the person who had taken care of these kids for the last ten years. She figured she owed it to her to try to have an honest conversation with her.

"I know I'm not a mother. I think that's pretty self-evident. But I did have them. And I can't help that Henry got in my head, and I want to make sure they're okay. The more you try to push me out, the more I want to be here, especially after seeing how troubled Henry is," Emma said honestly.

"You think he's troubled?"

Well, yeah. The kid thought everyone in the town was a fairy tale character. And he was in therapy even before he got the book. How could Regina think he _wasn't_ troubled?

"The poor kid can't tell the difference between fantasy and reality, and it's only getting worse. It's crazy-"

"You think I'm crazy?"

Emma heard Henry's voice from behind her and turned to see the kids standing in the doorway of Regina's office. _Oh, shit_. "Henry."

The boy looked a little like a kicked puppy. He gave her a betrayed look that made her heart ache for him. Guilt for putting that look on the kid's face rushed through her in an overwhelming wave.

Mia wasn't even glaring at her. Instead of glaring, the girl was just staring at Henry with wide eyes. It looked like she was holding her breath, waiting for Henry to do… _something_ , but what – yell…scream…cry?

Emma got up to go to the kid without knowing what she'd say to try to fix things – or if she even _could_ fix things with him.

Henry turned and ran out the door before Emma could say anything. Mia hesitated for a moment before taking off after him.

Emma saw them disappear through the door at the end of the long hallway, flinching slightly when it slammed behind them.

Regina was sitting facing the doorway. She had to have seen the kids standing there, and she didn't say anything.

"How long were they standing there?" Emma demanded, trying to get a handle on the damage.

"Long enough," Regina said, sounding almost…satisfied.

Emma closed her eyes and shook her head in disbelief. Regina had set her up again, but this time it didn't just hurt her…it hurt Henry. Emma didn't understand how a mother could do that to her own kid. She knew she wasn't a mother, but she would never intentionally hurt these kids, or any kid for that matter.

"You knew they would be here," Emma accused as she turned to the other woman.

Regina was just sitting there calmly. "Did I know that my children come to my office every Thursday at precisely 5:00 pm so I can take them to dinner before Henry's therapy session? Of course I did. _I'm their mother_. Your move."

This was all some sick, twisted game to her, but it was Henry and Mia's lives she was playing with, and that pissed Emma off. They were kids with feelings that could be hurt and hearts that could be broken.

Hadn't Regina seen how upset Henry was when he ran out of there? How could she sit there so calmly when her kid was out there hurting?

"You have no soul. How in the hell did you get like this?"

* * *

"Henry! Henry, wait!" Mia yelled, stopping just outside City Hall to catch her breath.

Henry looked over his shoulder hesitantly, only stopping when he saw that it was just her.

Mia hurried to catch up with him. "Where are you going?"

"I have my therapy session," Henry answered in a monotone. "Because everyone thinks I'm crazy."

"Yeah, well, people suck," Mia mumbled.

Henry looked at her solemnly. "Do you think I'm crazy?"

Mia hesitated. He _knew_ she didn't believe in the curse. "If you are, you get it from her. She went after Mom's apple tree with a chainsaw today." She laughed slightly at the ridiculousness of it, hoping it would distract her brother.

Henry's eyes widened slightly. "She - she did?"

Mia nodded. "After you guys bailed her out."

"What did Mom do?" Henry asked with wide eyes.

"Um, she basically told Emma that she was crazy."

"They both think I'm crazy," Henry muttered quietly.

Mia scoffed slightly. "Like they're so perfect? Who cares what they think?"

"I know you care. You just pretend like you don't," Henry said knowingly.

Mia made a face. "I think you've been spending too much time with the shrink. You're starting to sound like him. You should skip therapy."

* * *

After Mary Margaret convinced her not to leave, Emma went to find Henry at his therapy session. Instead, she found Archie sitting alone in his office.

"Ms. Swan! Look, I can explain. The mayor forced me to-"

Yeah, she knew what the mayor forced him to do. Emma didn't blame him…she blamed Regina.

"I know," Emma interrupted. "Don't worry about it. I get it. Where's Henry?"

"I don't know. He should've been here, uh, ten minutes ago."

"You think he's skipping his session?" Emma questioned.

"M-maybe…if, uh Mia's talked to him, he might be angry."

"What? Why?"

"Mia, uh, came to see me. She, um, wanted to know if you were set up," Archie told her.

Well, that was…unexpected. "What'd you tell her?"

Archie looked down. "The truth."

"Thank you," Emma said sincerely. "I have an idea of where they are. I'm going to go see if I can find them."

* * *

The twins were right where she thought they'd be – the castle structure in the playground where she found them once before. They were sitting next to each other on the highest platform with the now-familiar storybook open in Henry's lap.

Mia shook her head, giggling. "Uh-uh, I'm sorry, but Dr. Hopper does not look like a cricket."

Emma actually smiled at that. Her smile disappeared when Mia looked up from the open page of the book and noticed her, standing on the ground, looking up at them.

The laughter faded from the girl's face, her expression turning cold and stony. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"I don't want to talk to you!" Henry yelled.

Yeah, that sounded about right. Emma let out the breath she hadn't even realized she was holding.

Emma apologized, but it wasn't until she mentioned Operation Cobra and throwing the Evil Queen off the trail that the boy warmed up to her again.

The shrink was right…the book and stories _were_ how to communicate with Henry. He was listening to her, and she was really getting through to him.

She almost wished her daughter believed in the curse. Almost. Okay, she didn't really want that, but at least then she'd have a way to get through to the girl.

After she ripped the pages that Henry had given her to read up into teeny, tiny pieces, Henry came running down from the castle structure and threw his arms around her, almost knocking her backwards.

Emma wrapped her arms around the boy a little awkwardly at first, hugging him close to her after a second's hesitation.

"I knew you were here to help me," Henry murmured.

Oh. Emma moved her hand to cup the back of the boy's head. "That's right, kid. I am." She pulled back to look at him, her hands on his shoulders. "And _nothing_ \- not even a curse - is going to stop that."

Emma knew she would have missed this if she had left…missed mattering to someone the way she mattered to her son…missed getting to know this sweet, forgiving kid.

She wanted to get to know her daughter, too, but something told her the girl wasn't going to make it easy on her.

But Mia _had_ listened to her when Emma told her that she was set up, and had even gone to the shrink looking for the truth. That meant something.

Emma looked up, meeting the girl's guarded gaze. Mia was standing off to the side all by herself. Emma had spent pretty much all of her childhood feeling alone and misunderstood in foster homes. She never wanted her kids to feel that way, and she had a feeling her daughter did now.

Emma held the girl's gaze. "I want to get to know you, too, you know? I can be in your life in whatever way you want me to be. It's up to you."

Mia raised her eyebrows, eyeing her uncertainly. "It is?"

Emma nodded. "It is."

Mia's eyes widened slightly. "I don't know what I want."

"Well, you've got time to figure it out. I'll be around," Emma said with a small smile.

 **Author's Note:** Thanks for reading! I'd love to hear what you think.

For those of you who want to see Mia bond with Emma, they definitely will, but Mia's not there yet. It will help when Emma moves in with Mary Margaret and accepts the Deputy Sheriff job because then Mia won't feel like Emma is just going to leave at any moment.

That said, it will be a bit of a roller coaster ride for Mia with both of her moms – lots of ups and downs. She's a pre-teen girl, which tends to lend itself to drama and angst.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Granny had kicked her out of the bed-and-breakfast after the mayor's office called to remind her that they had a 'no felons' rule, and there were no vacancies in the entire town so Emma was camped out in her car.

Mary Margaret offered her spare room, but Emma wasn't really the roommate type. Well, she hadn't had a roommate since prison – if a cellmate even counted as a roommate. And before that, she'd almost always shared a room in her foster homes or group homes – sometimes with way too many kids stuck in the same cramped room. Anyway, she didn't exactly have great memories of roommates so she thanked the woman, but declined.

"Well, good night. Good luck with Henry," Mary Margaret told her.

Emma chuckled slightly. "Yeah…not the twin I need luck with."

"Oh, I just meant with the curse." Mary Margaret laughed a little and offered her a sympathetic smile. "Mia's still giving you a hard time?"

"Actually, she's not giving me any time at all. All kids in her situation want to know where they came from, but she said she doesn't know _what_ she wants from me. I don't want to push her, you know? But I want to get to know her."

"Of course you do. She's your daughter."

* * *

"We're not supposed to be in here," Mia hissed as her brother dragged her into a hospital room.

Henry glanced over his shoulder with a small, mischievous grin. "That's never stopped you before."

Mia wouldn't normally care about going somewhere they weren't supposed to go, but this was a hospital…it was _different_.

"And besides we have a right to be here," Henry continued. "He's family. He's our grandpa – Emma's father."

"What?" Mia blinked and furrowed her brow. "She said her parents left her on the side of the road when she was a baby."

"They didn't. That's just where she came out of the wardrobe," Henry said impatiently, pulling the storybook out of his backpack. He brought it to the hospital? Of course he did – he brought it everywhere. Mia rolled her eyes as her brother flipped through the thick book to a glossy illustration of Snow White's prince and pointed to a scar on the handsome prince's chin. "See? Mr. Doe has the same scar! He's Prince Charming!"

Mia looked at the man lying in the hospital bed. He _did_ have the same scar as the prince in the illustration, but a lot of people had scars. His hair was almost the same color as their birth mother's, but again a lot of people had blonde hair.

"He does kind of look like Emma," Mia acknowledged.

"We don't look like her." Henry sounded almost sad. "I thought we would, but we don't look like anyone."

Mia knew what he meant. It bothered her that she didn't look like her adoptive mom. "We look like each other." She raised her eyebrows, smirking slightly. "It's kind of the definition of twins. Come on, Henry. Let's get out of here before anyone sees us."

Henry hesitated. "We have to tell her."

"Huh?"

"Ms. Blanchard. We have to tell her we found her Prince Charming," Henry said.

Seriously? Mia stared in disbelief. "No," she told him.

"Yes!" Henry insisted. "We have to."

"Henry. Mia. We could really use your help with the decorations."

Instead of listening to Ms. Blanchard, Henry showed her the man's scar and then showed her Prince Charming's scar in the storybook. He was still trying to convince their teacher that the man was actually Prince Charming even as the woman ushered them out into the hospital wing where their classmates were putting up decorations.

"Did I hear right, Mills? You _actually_ think one of the patients here is in your stupid book of fairy tales?"

Okay, Mia might have been _thinking_ that, but she would never have actually _said_ it, at least not to _her_ brother. She turned around angrily to see who _did_ , stiffening when she saw the class bully, Jake Spencer, standing behind them, gawking at Henry. Most of the kids left them alone because of who their mom was, but not Jake. His dad was the district attorney, and he thought the mayor's kids were fair game.

Henry tensed beside her. "He has the same scar…"

Mia stifled a groan. Jake already made fun of Henry for carrying the book around everywhere, and he _didn't_ know Henry believed the stories had actually happened. Now that he knew Henry thought they were more than just fairy tales, her brother would never hear the end of it.

Jake stared at Henry incredulously, scoffing in disbelief. "You're crazy, Mills."

Henry looked down, his cheeks flushing. It was the day after they heard Emma talking to Regina, and even though her brother had forgiven their birth mother, he was still sensitive about it.

Mia glared at Jake. "And you're as dumb as you look. Ms. Blanchard's right over there, and we all know Henry's her favorite." She hoped that would shut him up, at least for the moment.

Jake leaned in so close that she could smell the Cheetos on his breath from lunch – _gross_. "If you tell her, I'll tell everyone you have a shrink."

Mia balled her hands into fists at her side, her nails digging into her palms. "I _don't_ have a shrink."

"Oh, yeah? I saw you come out of the shrink's office yesterday." _Crap_. "Don't tell me you still believe in fairy tales, too?"

"She doesn't," Henry muttered. "She doesn't believe in fairy tales, and she doesn't have a shrink."

"What were you doing there then?" Jake challenged, smirking slightly.

"None of your business," Mia said coldly.

Jake grinned. "You know, I feel bad for your mom. She couldn't have known when she adopted you that you're both crazy. I bet she'd give you back to your real parents if she could, but-"

They would never know what he was going to say because Mia raised her right fist without thinking about it and watched, almost feeling like it was an out-of-body experience, as it smashed into Jake Spencer's ugly face.

* * *

"My mom's going to kill me," Mia muttered under her breath.

"My dad's going to kill me," Jake said, glaring at her like this was all her fault.

They were sitting on the hard, uncomfortable plastic chairs outside the principal's office, waiting for their respective parents to pick them up.

Mia glanced at Jake in surprise. "Why? You didn't start the fight."

The kids who had seen the fight had all said _she_ started it. She _had_ thrown the first punch, but none of them heard what the jerk said.

"I got a black eye from a _girl_. He's going to kill me."

Mia fought a smirk. She had given him one heck of a shiner.

"What are you smiling at?"

That wiped any trace of a smirk off her face. Mia actually winced slightly at the fury in Regina's voice. She hadn't heard the distinctive click of her adoptive mom's signature high heels over the chatter and slamming of lockers in the hallway, but her adoptive mom was towering over her. Mia shrank back under Regina's withering stare.

"This is the third time in as many months that you've been in the principal's office," Regina said coldly. "I wouldn't look so pleased with myself if I were you."

Principal Daly stepped out of his office almost immediately, not wanting to keep Regina waiting. "Madam Mayor, come in, please."

* * *

Regina followed Principal Daly into his office. Her lip curled a little when she saw Mary Margaret Blanchard sitting in one of the two chairs facing the principal's desk.

"What exactly did my daughter do that Ms. Blanchard was incapable of handling on her own?" Regina asked in an irritated tone.

Mary Margaret's eyes widened slightly. She opened her mouth to say something, but Regina cut her off.

"I wasn't speaking to you, dear," Regina said dismissively, turning to Principal Daly with an expectant look.

"We have a zero tolerance policy for violence," Principal Daly said, fiddling with his tie nervously.

Regina's eyebrows shot up. She couldn't imagine her daughter doing anything worse than pushing or shoving, and she'd hardly call that violence. "Violence? Mia's ten."

"She was involved in a physical altercation with another student." Principal Daly cleared his throat. "The other student has a black eye."

"Who is this student and why aren't their parents here?" Regina demanded.

The man winced slightly. "Jake Spencer."

Regina nodded slightly, recognizing the last name. The child belonged to the district attorney then. She assumed it was the boy sitting next to Mia just outside the principal's office. She had noticed his black eye when she walked in, but hadn't realized that Mia gave it to him.

"His father's coming to get him," Principal Daly continued. "But, Madam Mayor...he didn't start the fight. Several students saw the altercation, and they all reported seeing Mia start it. You understand I have no choice but to suspend her."

Regina sighed. "Principal Daly, the woman who gave Mia and Henry up for adoption has suddenly come back into their lives – uninvited, might I add. My daughter is understandably confused and upset. She is not violent. Mia will be punished at home. What lesson do you think suspending her from school will teach her? She doesn't enjoy school. She'll see this as a reward, not a punishment."

Principal Daly shifted uncomfortably behind his desk. "I'm sorry, Madam Mayor. Even if it wasn't a physical altercation, this is the third time Mia's been in the office this year…"

"Very well," Regina said unhappily. "I'm taking my daughter home now. When she comes back, I'm having her moved into a different class."

* * *

Albert Spencer was just outside the principal's office when Regina left. Mia actually looked relieved to see her even though she knew she was in trouble.

Regina frowned slightly. Surely Spencer wouldn't have _dared_ to say anything to _her_ daughter. He may be the district attorney, but she was the mayor. She moved next to the chair her daughter was sitting in and put a proprietary hand on top of the girl's shoulder.

Spencer didn't notice her at first because he was focused on the boy sitting next to Mia. "If it was nothing, the principal wouldn't have called me at the office," he said gruffly. He studied the boy for several seconds, taking in the black eye. "Did you at least win?"

Regina took the moment to scan her own child. She suppressed a slight smirk when she saw no sign of bruises, cuts or other harm. Mia had clearly won their little fight.

"Dad, it was nothing," the boy insisted.

"Nothing doesn't usually result in a black eye. Mr. Spencer, I'd like to apologize for my daughter," Regina said, tightening her grip on her daughter's shoulder. She glanced at the girl, expecting her to apologize.

Spencer looked over at her seemingly in surprise. "Your daughter?" He repeated, frowning.

Regina wanted to roll her eyes, but didn't. It didn't surprise her that the man couldn't imagine his son being beat by a little girl. She knew him well enough – both in the Enchanted Forest and here – to know he was a chauvinist, but their interests had been… _aligned_ in the Enchanted Forest so she had given him one of the few positions of power and the son he had always wanted.

"Mia, what do you have to say for yourself?" Regina demanded. Her daughter hadn't taken the silent hint to apologize.

"Sorry," Mia mumbled, not sounding like she meant it.

Regina let out a small, exasperated sigh at the attitude dripping from the girl's voice. "Mia, let's go." She strode out of the office without looking back. She knew Mia would follow her if she knew what was good for her.

Regina didn't say anything to the girl on the way home. From the nervous glances Mia cast at her during the short car ride, her silence was having the desired effect.

Mia tried to sneak up to her room, but Regina stopped her before she even made it to the first step. She knew the girl had a tendency to run and hide when she did not like what was happening. "Not so fast, young lady."

The little girl's shoulders slumped in defeat and she reluctantly turned around at the bottom of the staircase.

"My office. Now."

Mia almost ran past her, only slowing down to a normal pace when she was safely out of reach. Regina smirked slightly.

It bothered Regina more than she would admit that her daughter chose the exact same spot Emma Swan had occupied on the loveseat the night the woman brought Henry home.

The little girl sat with her legs uncrossed in spite of the skirt that was part of her school uniform, wringing her hands nervously in her lap. Regina tried to ignore the similarities between Mia and Ms. Swan that she couldn't help but notice now. Mia didn't have the birth mother's blonde hair, but she had some of the same facial expressions and mannerisms. And fighting in school…well, that certainly seemed like something the woman who took a chainsaw to her apple tree would do.

Regina paced for several seconds before whipping around to face her daughter. "Honestly, Mia, fighting at school? Fighting at all? And with the district attorney's son, no less?"

"Why does it matter who his dad is?"

It mattered more than a ten year old could hope to understand, but politics was something Regina had learned at her mother's knee when she was a few years older than Mia was now. "Because as mayor, I have to work with the district attorney. His job is to put miscreants in prison. Do you know what that means?"

Mia stared in confusion. "No?"

"It means you're fortunate that you are a child and your punishment is my responsibility." Regina could tell from the girl's expression that she didn't agree. "Because if you were an adult, Mia, you would be tossed in jail for assault and the father of the boy you assaulted would determine your punishment."

Mia gaped. "Assault?"

"Yes. Assault. That is what you did when you punched that boy. What were you thinking?"

Regina could see the girl considering her answer carefully. The truth would have come spilling out without thinking. The fact that the girl was thinking so hard meant she was coming up with some sort of story.

Regina swallowed the frustration and disappointment. "You obviously weren't thinking, but you'll have plenty of time to think about what you did. You're suspended from school and you're grounded. I'll take your Gameboy." She extended her hand expectantly, palm facing up and waiting.

Mia dug her Gameboy out of her backpack and thrust it into Regina's outstretched hand angrily.

Regina's fingers curled so tightly around the device that it would have broken if it weren't made of hard plastic. "No computer or TV. Go to your room."

* * *

Emma looked up when Henry plopped down across from her in the booth at Granny's. "Hey, kid. Where's your partner in crime?" She tried to sound casual, but she wanted to know if her daughter was still avoiding her.

"Mia's grounded," Henry answered with a small grimace. "She got in a fight at school."

Emma's eyes widened slightly. "Oh. About what?"

Henry shrugged slightly and looked down, staring at the chipped Formica tabletop. "I promised not to tell."

Emma leaned forward a little so her elbows were on the tabletop and looked at him with a curious expression. "Me specifically? Or just in general?"

"Just Ms. Blanchard and our mom," Henry said distractedly.

Emma just looked at him with raised eyebrows. She waited for him to realize he could tell her if he wanted to.

"The evil queen, not you," Henry added hastily, misinterpreting the look she was giving him. Emma could see it in his eyes the moment realization hit him. He gave her a sly smile. "So I can tell you."

"If you want to," Emma told him.

"I do," Henry insisted.

He told her about the coma patient that he thought was Prince Charming, the school bully that had been picking on him since he got the book, and what the kid had said to him and Mia before she punched him. Emma thought it sounded like the kid deserved a punch in the face, but knew she couldn't tell Henry that.

Before she could say anything that would make her put her foot in her mouth, Henry opened his storybook to show her Prince Charming's scar.

"Ms. Blanchard didn't believe me, but he has the same scar – in the same place!"

Emma stared a little incredulously. "You told your teacher this?"

Henry _had_ told Mary Margaret that the coma patient was her Prince Charming. And now he wanted the poor woman to read the fairy tale to him. He agreed to do it her way though so that was something. But now…now she had to ask Mary Margaret to go along with her plan. How the hell did she get herself into this?

* * *

Emma took the cocoa Mary Margaret handed her and blew on it. "I heard you had an interesting day," she started carefully.

"You talked to Henry?" Mary Margaret said knowingly.

"Yes. But, hey, Mia isn't intentionally avoiding me right now. She's just grounded," Emma said wryly.

"I don't know what happened." Mary Margaret shook her head, tilting it to the side in thought. "Mia's a bit prickly, but she's not mean-spirited."

"The kid was picking on Henry," Emma said with a small shrug.

Mary Margaret raised her eyebrows. "You're proud of her, aren't you?"

"Maybe. I mean, yeah? She stuck up for her brother."

"She gave another child a black eye," Mary Margaret said in an exasperated tone. "And for the record, she threw the first punch."

Emma chuckled wryly. "She got my right hook."

"I wonder where Henry got his sweet disposition," Mary Margaret mused.

"Did you forget that he stole your credit card?" Emma asked without missing a beat.

"I'm sure he didn't mean any harm," Mary Margaret protested.

"Well, I'm glad you forgave him because I have a favor to ask you…actually, it's for Henry," Emma said a little awkwardly.

* * *

Emma's plan backfired majorly. Mary Margaret came into the diner the next morning and reported that 'Prince Charming' grabbed her hand while she was reading to him.

Of course Henry wanted to go back to the hospital. Emma could tell something was wrong when they walked in. The sheriff was there and – oh, shit - so was Regina.

Regina saw her, too, and came storming out of John Doe's empty room with Mia trailing behind her, looking completely miserable. "What the hell are you doing here?" Regina cut her eyes to Henry. "And you – I thought you were at the arcade. Now you're lying to me?"

Emma glanced at Henry with a sympathetic expression, but he didn't seem too worried about Regina. He was listening to Sheriff Graham explain that John Doe's IV was ripped out and they didn't know where he was.

"What did you do?" Henry demanded, glaring at Regina.

Regina looked hurt. "You think I had something to do with this?"

"She didn't," Mia mumbled grudgingly. "I've been with her _all_ day."

"You're grounded, dear," Regina reminded the girl unapologetically.

"It is curious that the mayor is here," Emma said carefully. Technically it wasn't an accusation, but her tone was accusatory.

"I'm here because I'm his emergency contact," Regina told them.

Regina told a story about finding John Doe on the side of the road with no ID on him and bringing him to the hospital. It was a nice story, but it wasn't true. Even though Dr. Whale confirmed it, Emma's internal lie detector was going off.

Dr. Whale then went on to tell them John Doe wouldn't be okay unless he got back to the hospital right away.

"Well, then let's quit yapping and start looking," Emma said.

"That's what we're doing. Just stay out of this, dear," Regina said in a patronizing tone. "And since I clearly can't keep you away from my son, I guess I'm just going to have to keep my son away from you. Enjoy my shirt because that's all you're getting. Sheriff, find John Doe. You hear Dr. Whale – time is precious."

Emma watched as the mayor steered Henry and Mia down the hallway.

She would have helped Graham find John Doe anyway, but the other woman telling her to stay out of it only made her want to stay in the middle of it more. It was a good thing she did, too, because she was the one who realized the security tape had been switched to a different night by the missing banners from the kids. When they watched the real tape, they saw John Doe walk out the door that led to the woods alone.

* * *

Regina parked in the driveway and looked from Mia to Henry with a stern expression. "I don't want to leave either of you alone right now, but I have to go back out. You both are to go straight inside and stay there."

"Oh- _kay!_ "

"Whining is unbecoming, dear," Regina told her. "Now you are still grounded. You know the rules. If you break them, there will be consequences."

Mia slammed out of the car and into the house, almost slamming the door in Henry's face.

"Hey!" Henry protested.

Mia glanced at him apologetically. "Sorry."

"It's okay," Henry told her.

They watched out the window until Regina backed out of the driveway and the Mercedes disappeared from their line of sight.

"She's gone," Henry breathed.

" _Finally_ ," Mia said with a huge sigh.

"That bad, huh?" Henry asked sympathetically. "Come on, let's go!"

Mia just stood there with raised eyebrows. "Where are we going?"

"To help Emma find Mr. Doe! I know where he is. He's trying to find Ms. Blanchard."

"Because she's Snow White and he's Prince Charming," Mia said with a knowing expression.

"Yes!"

"Well, Snow White and the head dwarf suspended me from school so she's not my favorite person right now," Mia told him.

"Principal Daly isn't a dwarf. And Snow White and Prince Charming are our grandparents," Henry said seriously.

Mia scrunched up her face. "I'm going to pass."

"You can't pass," Henry told her matter-of-factly. "You're a part of Operation Cobra."

"What I'm going to be is _dead_ if Mom comes back and I'm not here. Do you want to be an only child?"

"No," Henry said quietly.

Mia offered him a half-hearted smile. "You can go, okay? I'll try to cover for you if she comes back, but no promises."

* * *

They were searching the woods when Henry found them, saying he knew where John Doe was and that he was trying to find Mary Margaret.

Emma sighed. "Kid. You need to go home. Where's your mom? She's going to kill me and then you…and then me again."

"She dropped us at the house. Then went right out." Henry didn't seem concerned about Regina's reaction.

"Us?" Emma questioned. "Please tell me your sister stayed home. She's already in enough trouble."

"She did," Henry told her earnestly.

Emma let out a breath she hadn't even realized she was holding. "Okay. Well, we need to get you back immediately."

"No!" Henry argued.

Before she could drag Henry home, Graham found John Doe's hospital bracelet on the ground. It had blood on it. Oh, shit.

Emma hoped this wasn't traumatizing the kid.

* * *

"His name is David Nolan. And that's his wife, Kathryn. And the joy on her face? Well, it's put me in quite the forgiving mood." Regina almost sounded smug.

John Doe had been brought back to the hospital in an ambulance. All these years there had been a John Doe lying in a coma, and now he suddenly had a wife - a wife the mayor had conveniently found. Emma wasn't buying it.

Something wasn't right. Something wasn't right with the mayor…and maybe with the newfound wife, but definitely with the mayor.

Regina glanced at Henry. "We'll talk about your insubordination later. Do you know what insubordination means? It means you're grounded. You and Mia will spend the rest of the weekend in your rooms – you in _your_ room and her in her room. Where is Mia?"

"She's at home," Henry mumbled.

Regina's eyes narrowed. "She better be. If you're lying to me again-"

"He's not," Emma cut her off. "We haven't seen Mia."

"At least you're staying away from one of my children," Regina said coldly.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Regina opened the door to her daughter's bedroom without knocking and almost tripped over the girl's backpack as soon as she walked in. She glared at the offending item, shaking her head slightly at the state of the ten year old's bedroom. It was an absolute pigsty.

She took a deep breath, swallowing her annoyance. It was the first day of Mia's suspension from school, and it would be a long day if they started out fighting over something as trivial as the girl's cleaning habits – or lack thereof.

Mia needed to be punished for fighting at school, but Regina was considering going easier on her than she had originally planned as a reward for good behavior. She was pleasantly surprised that the girl had stayed at home like she was supposed to while Henry was off gallivanting around town with Ms. Swan.

Regina approached the bed and sat down next to her daughter's sleeping form. The girl made a noise that was half-whimper, half-groan when she felt the weight of the bed shift and rolled over, squeezing her eyes shut and burying her head in her pillows.

Regina smiled, knowing the girl was awake. "Mia, sweetie, it's time to wake up," she said as she brushed a stray hair out of the girl's face. She continued to stroke the girl's hair as she waited for her to open her eyes.

Mia's eyes fluttered open and she blinked, looking up at Regina with bleary hazel eyes. "What- what time is it?" She asked, bringing her right hand to cover her mouth as she yawned.

"Time to wake up," Regina said simply.

Mia glanced at the alarm clock on her nightstand, groaning at the actual time. "Why so early?" The girl asked with a slight whine in her voice. Already? Regina hadn't even had her coffee yet. "I don't have to go to school today."

Regina stared. "This is _not_ a vacation. You're suspended. You're coming to work with me. Now get up."

Mia sat up in bed, but didn't actually get out of bed.

Regina walked over to her daughter's dresser.

"What are you doing?" Mia asked in a confused tone.

"Laying your clothes out for you," Regina told her. "Go get in the shower."

"I can pick out my own clothes," Mia said forlornly.

Regina didn't even spare her a glance. "Not from your bed, you can't."

Regina carefully laid a nice black and white striped sweater and a pair of black skinny jeans out on the side of the bed that the girl didn't sleep on.

She did not want her daughter running around her office in blue jeans or sweatpants, but she was not going to fight with her about wearing a dress or skirt. She remembered her own mother forcing her into hated corset dresses and vowed never to do that to Mia. She thought the outfit she picked out was a more than fair compromise between what she thought was appropriate attire for City Hall and what the ten year old liked to wear when she wasn't in her school uniform.

Regina glanced at her daughter, who was still sitting with her back against the headboard with her knees drawn to her chest. "Well? Do you approve?"

Mia giggled a little. "Yes," she admitted grudgingly.

"Good," Regina said. "Now go take a shower. I was going to take you to Granny's for the cocoa you love so much, but if you're not dressed and downstairs in exactly forty-five minutes, I'm afraid we won't have time before my first meeting."

Well, _that_ certainly got her daughter's attention. Regina watched in amusement as the girl pulled back the covers and scrambled out of bed.

"Don't forget your homework. And bring a book to read or your art kit," Regina added. She did _not_ need a bored ten year old distracting her from her own work. "You'll need something to do."

* * *

Regina timed their arrival to Granny's perfectly. The school bus had just left and most of the breakfast rush had cleared out. She immediately saw the woman she was looking for when they walked in. Ms. Swan was sitting at a large table to the right of the door with the newspaper open in front of her and a cup of cocoa.

It was clear Henry would not listen to her about anything to do with the woman, but he _did_ listen to Mia. She just needed to make sure _Mia_ knew everything she wanted Henry to know. Starting now.

There were numerous red flags the came up in the background check she had Sidney run on Emma Swan – and Regina knew _exactly_ which of those red flags would concern her daughter the most.

"How was your walk with Henry?" Regina asked casually, getting Ms. Swan's attention. And it got her daughter's attention at the same time. The little girl was staring at her with wide eyes. Regina could almost see the gears turning in her mind as she tried to figure out a way to warn Henry.

Now that she had their undivided attention, Regina sat down across from the blonde woman, crossing her legs primly. "That's right. I know everything. But relax. I don't mind."

"You don't?" Emma said calmly, looking like she didn't believe her for one second.

"No. Because you no longer worry me, Ms. Swan," Regina said, keeping her tone casual.

Mia's wide eyes narrowed slightly. "Since when?"

Regina struggled to keep her smile in place. She was enjoying drawing this out, but knew she needed to get to the point. Patience was not a virtue her ten year old daughter possessed. "It's good you're here, sweetie. You should hear this. You see, I did a little digging into who this woman is."

* * *

"How was your walk with Henry?"

Emma looked up from her cocoa in surprise, sizing the mayor up. She wished she could say she was surprised to see Mia with Regina, but she wasn't - it wasn't the first time the other woman had brought the kids into this…well, whatever the hell it was that was going on between them.

Regina sat down across from Emma, leaving Mia standing awkwardly behind them, looking unsure of what to do.

"That's right. I know everything," Regina said smugly. "But relax. I don't mind."

"You don't?" Emma said with heavy skepticism, waiting for the punch line.

"No. Because you no longer worry me, Ms. Swan."

Mia was staring at Regina complete and utter disbelief. "Since when?"

Emma saw the way the corners of Regina's mouth tightened with annoyance. Regina glanced over her shoulder at the girl. "It's good you're here, sweetie," she said in almost sickeningly sweet tone that didn't match the tight lines in her facial expression. "You should hear this. You see, I did a little digging into who this woman is."

Emma clasped her hands in front of her on the table to stop herself from wringing them or fidgeting. She didn't want Regina to know she was making her nervous. She glanced at Mia out of the corner of her eye. Whatever Regina found on her, she knew it wasn't going to be good and she didn't want the kid to have to hear it.

Regina turned back to Emma with a flourish. "And what I found was quite soothing. It all comes down to the number seven."

"Seven?" Emma questioned, staring blankly.

"It's the number of addresses you've had in the last decade. Your longest in anywhere was two years. Really, _what_ did you enjoy so much about Tallahassee?" Regina looked like she was enjoying this immensely, but Mia looked almost…disappointed.

 _Crap_. That was what the girl was afraid of…that Emma would leave and it would hurt Henry. Emma thought maybe it wasn't _just_ Henry that Mia was worried about…maybe she was worried about how she would feel, too…and Regina was playing expertly on the girl's fears.

Emma picked the newspaper up and set it down again, needing _something_ to do with her hands. She forced herself to meet the mayor's gaze, keeping her expression carefully blank. "If you were wondering, I did find a place here in town."

"Y-you did?" Mia asked in a small voice.

"Yes," Regina answered for her. "With Ms. Blanchard."

"You're…living with our teacher?" Mia made a face. "That's so weird!"

"Don't worry, sweetie," Regina told the girl. "Ms. Swan doesn't have a lease. Her stay with Ms. Blanchard is only temporary."

"What does that mean?" Mia asked in a confused tone.

"It means," Regina said slowly and deliberately, "that this woman can leave here at any time. She doesn't have a house. She doesn't have a job. You see, Mia, there's nothing keeping Ms. Swan here."

"Yes, there is," Emma said fiercely with a pointed glance at Mia. "Two things actually. Henry and Mia. They're all that matters to me right now."

"But for how long?" Regina said in a soft, dangerous voice. "Your longest in anywhere was two years. Let's see…that would make Henry and Mia twelve when you leave them behind – and that's _if_ you enjoy your time with my children as much as you enjoyed whatever it is you were doing in Tallahassee. People don't change. They only fool themselves into believing they can."

Emma glared. "You don't know me."

"No, I think I do." Regina leaned forward almost conspiratorially. "All I ask is as you carry on your transient life, you think of Henry and Mia, and what's best for them. Perhaps consider a clean break. It's going to happen anyway. Enjoy your cocoa."

* * *

Mia sat Indian style on the couch in her mom's office, trying to do her math homework. It wasn't working. How could Regina expect her to focus on homework with the whole birth mother situation going on?

She felt Regina's watchful eyes on her and forced herself to copy the first math problem from the assigned homework in her spiral notebook.

Mia didn't understand why Emma was still there if it _wasn't_ for her and Henry like she said. The woman had been in jail twice since she'd been there, and at least one of the times she hadn't done anything to deserve it…Regina and Dr. Hopper had set her up. Regina was making the woman's stay in Storybrooke as miserable as possible. But if Emma was _really_ staying for them, why had she said she _wouldn't_ stay when Henry begged her to stay? Why hadn't she just said yes then? Why now? Mia didn't understand it at all.

 _If_ Emma was staying for them…well, was that enough for her to stay? The woman didn't want them when they were born and didn't want to stay here with them at first. Mia knew she should be happy the woman stayed…for Henry, if not for her. But she wasn't happy…she was just confused.

Mia didn't want to get to know their birth mother if she was just going to leave any day now. She didn't want to like Emma and be left behind when she moved on. And if she started to like Emma - not that she did - was that like betraying Regina? Regina was their mom…and Emma was the woman that gave them away like they didn't matter to her.

A brisk knock on the doorframe startled Mia out of her thoughts. She looked up and saw Jake Spencer's dad standing in the doorway, waiting for Regina to acknowledge him. What did _he_ want?

Regina glanced up from her computer and rose from her desk chair gracefully. "Mr. Spencer. Please, come in."

"Madam Mayor." Mr. Spencer inclined his head slightly. He walked over to Regina's desk and stood facing her with his back to Mia. "I assume your girl told you what my boy did to cause their little scuffle?"

Mia gasped, staring at the two adults with wide eyes and a worried expression. She hadn't told Regina _anything._

Regina glanced at Mia. "It's almost time for lunch. Be a dear and go get us something from Granny's."

Mia bit her bottom lip. She didn't want to leave…she wanted to know what Mr. Spencer was going to say.

Regina's eyes narrowed slightly when Mia didn't move. " _Now_ , Mia. The grown-ups need to talk."

Mia set her notebook down and unfolded her legs. She walked over to her mom's desk to take the credit card Regina had pulled out of her purse.

"Shut the door behind you," Regina called pointedly as Mia left.

Mia tried to listen from the other side of the door, but she realized pretty quickly that she couldn't hear anything. With a frustrated sigh, she gave up and went to Granny's.

Emma was still in the diner…at the same table she'd been at that morning, but now she was eating lunch. Mia pretended not to see her. She ordered a grilled cheese with onion rings for herself and a chicken salad for Regina and sat down on a barstool at the counter to wait for the to-go order.

* * *

Emma watched Mia walk right past her without looking back. She sighed and walked over to the counter, sitting down on the barstool next to the girl. "Hey, kid."

Mia glanced at her, looking uncomfortable. "Oh…hi," she said, trying to sound surprised…like she hadn't seen her when she walked in. Emma knew she had.

"About what happened between me and your mom this morning?" Emma started awkwardly. "I'm sorry you had to see that. And, um…as far as what your mom said…you know, about me leaving?"

Mia's expression hardened. "What about it?"

"I've done my share of moving around," Emma said honestly. "But I've always been on my own. It was just me. There was no one to miss me when I left."

"Henry will miss you when you leave!" Mia burst out. Her voice came out higher than normal, making the girl sound almost hysterical. It was just like Emma thought…it _wasn't_ just Henry that the girl was worried about…she was worried about how she would feel, too. The girl was clearly upset.

"But that's the thing," Emma said quickly. "I'm not alone anymore. I have you and Henry in my life now. It's not just about me. And I know that – I do. I'm staying for you guys. And, you know…it's not just for you guys…it's for me, too."

Mia eyed her uncertainly. "So you're staying? You're really staying?"

Emma nodded. "Your mom will be thrilled," she said sarcastically, trying to lighten the mood a little.

Mia's lips twitched, but she turned around so she was facing the counter again, almost like she was trying to hide the fact that Emma made her smile.

"Where is your mom?" Emma asked curiously. She was surprised to see the kid in Granny's by herself when she was grounded.

Mia made a face, wincing slightly. "With the district attorney."

"And that's a bad thing?" Emma questioned.

"It wouldn't be, but I kind of punched his son."

Emma shrugged slightly. She knew Mary Margaret didn't exactly approve of her pride in the girl, but she _was_ proud. "Sounds like the kid deserved a punch in the face if you ask me."

Mia glanced at her with a guarded expression. "What would _you_ know about it?"

"Oh, um…Henry told me," Emma answered hesitantly, hoping the girl wouldn't get mad at her twin.

Mia raised her eyebrows, looking surprised. "He told you? Unbelievable!"

"Just that the kid was picking on him." Emma tried to downplay it. "You know, because of the whole fairy tale thing."

"Jake's not the first person to call Henry crazy," Mia said with a pointed glare.

Emma inhaled sharply. "You know, that's not exactly what I said," she tried to defend herself, giving the girl a pointed look of her own. "I said the curse is crazy, and it is."

Mia blew out a breath and nodded slightly, knowing the curse _was_ crazy. Emma could almost see the fight and anger go out of her.

Emma offered the girl a tentative smile. "Henry's lucky to have you in his corner."

"He's my brother," Mia said matter-of-factly.

Ruby set a to-go bag down in front of Mia. "Here you go, Mia. Grilled cheese with a side of onion rings and chicken salad. Utensils in the bag."

"Thanks, Ruby," Mia saw with a smile. She picked up the bag and hopped down from the stool, glancing back at Emma. "I've got to go. See you?"

"See you, kid."

* * *

DA Spencer was already gone by the time her daughter returned. Regina moved over to the couch to eat with Mia. She waited until the girl had opened her to-go box and was picking at her onion rings.

"Do you have any idea how it feels to find out from another child's parent what really happened between that child and my daughter?" Regina asked, studying the girl intently.

Mia bit her bottom lip. "Not good?"

Regina made a small sound that was half-scoff, half-humorless laugh. "No."

"What did Mr. Spencer tell you?" Mia asked nervously.

Regina suppressed a smile at the obvious attempt to find out what she knew. The fine art of subtlety was lost on her daughter. "His son's side of the story. Now I'd like to hear yours."

"You already know I punched him."

Regina met her daughter's gaze. "Yes. And now I want to know why."

Mia lowered her gaze, shrugging halfheartedly. "He was being mean to Henry," she said softly.

Regina was losing her patience with the non-answers. " _How_ was he being mean to Henry?" Of course she already knew, but she wanted to hear it from Mia.

"He was making fun of him because of his book of fairy tales, okay? He's been making fun of him for a month now!" Mia almost yelled in frustration. "Ever since he got that stupid book."

Regina frowned. "If this has been going on for a month, why am I only hearing about it now?"

"Like you care," Mia muttered.

"I _do_ care. He's _my_ son."

"Please," Mia said, rolling her eyes disrespectfully. "He thinks you're evil because of that book. You're probably happy everyone's making fun of him because of it."

Regina's frown deepened. " _Of course_ I'm not. And it hurts me that you would think that. I suppose you think I'm some sort of evil queen, too, now?"

Mia snorted. "No. Of course not."

Regina relaxed slightly. "Well, then, what have I done that is so horrible you think I wouldn't care that your brother's being bullied in school?"

Mia shook her head. "It's not that I don't think you'd care if he was being bullied for being a comic book nerd or- or sucking at dodge ball," she said, laughing a little. She sobered up quickly, adding, "It's _why_ he's being bullied."

"The book."

"Well, yeah?"

Regina sighed. "I don't like what this book's doing to him. Do you?"

"No," Mia admitted softly. "Before he got the book, we played MarioKart and Minecraft. Now it's like all he cares about is that stupid book."

Regina looked at the child that _didn't_ think she was evil sadly. She was so worried about Henry and the birth mother and her curse that she didn't realize what all of this was doing to Mia. "I'm sorry, sweetie. I didn't realize how this was affecting you."

Mia sat back a little on the couch and rested her head on Regina's shoulder. "It's not your fault. You didn't give him the book."

Regina wrapped an arm around the girl's shoulders and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "I still should have noticed."

Mia hesitated for a moment. "Jake said something…he said he felt sorry for you…that you'd give us back if you could. It's stupid – since we're adopted." Regina felt the girl shrug half-heartedly against her, trying to act like it wasn't bothering her as much as it clearly was.

Regina swallowed her fury. It was Jake she was furious with, not her daughter. "I love you and Henry. You are my children, and you will always be my children…even when you're off at college and think you're an adult."

Mia giggled a little and snuggled into her arm, glancing up at her slyly. "So am I still grounded?"

Regina looked at her daughter with an amused expression. "Yes, you're still grounded. I would have handled it had you told me what was going on. Instead, you got into a brawl in the hospital. That was _not_ the best way to handle it. Was it now?" She arched an expectant eyebrow at the girl.

Mia let out a small, disappointed sigh, but didn't look particularly surprised. "No," she admitted reluctantly.

"However," Regina started, causing the girl to perk up again, "you're no longer grounded through the weekend. You're only grounded until you go back to school on Thursday. Consider it a reward for good behavior. I'll warn you now that I won't be so lenient if you get in any more trouble at school." She tapped the girl's nose.

* * *

The week dragged on for Mia. Regina wasn't _completely_ terrible, but she enforced her punishment. Mia was bored out of her mind in her mom's office with only homework, the book she was reading, and her art kit to keep her busy for the entire three days she was suspended. When she went back to school, she had a ton of work to catch up on. She was happy when Saturday finally rolled around.

Regina had a City Council meeting and wouldn't be back until five so she left them home alone. Mia thought maybe they could play video games or ride their bikes to the drugstore to get candy, but Henry wanted to spend time with Emma. Mia had decided that maybe the blonde woman wasn't so bad, but she still wasn't sure about her and wasn't as gung-ho as her brother.

The blonde woman wasn't in Granny's so Henry wanted to go to their teacher's apartment. Mia stared at him like he'd lost his mind. "You want to go to Ms. Blanchard's apartment?"

That just seemed like forbidden territory to Mia.

"Yes," Henry insisted, trying to pull her toward the apartment building.

"No! That's just – it's weird."

Henry glanced at her with an amused expression. "Our mom's living there, too, you know."

"I hate you," Mia said as she followed him.

"No, you don't. You love me," Henry said knowingly with a cocky grin.

* * *

Emma reluctantly agreed to find Ashley for Gold. She knew a little too well what it was like to be young, pregnant and alone. She didn't want another baby to be born in jail, not if she could help it. She knew her kids were lucky to avoid the system, even if they ended up with someone like Regina.

Emma made it pretty clear she was doing it to help _Ashley_ , not Gold. She was just finishing up with him when the door to the apartment burst open.

"You have to knock first! You can't just walk in."

Emma recognized Mia's voice a second before Henry waltzed in, ignoring his sister completely. "Hey, Emma! I was thinking we-" The boy stopped talking suddenly when he saw Gold.

Mia came through after Henry, looking hesitant and unsure.

After exchanging awkward greetings with the kids, Gold turned to leave. "Good luck, Ms. Swan," he said as he left.

Mia tilted her head to look at Emma curiously. "What do you need luck with?"

Emma shifted uncomfortably. "Nothing."

Mia rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in front of her. "Fine, don't tell us."

"Do you know who that is?" Henry asked, looking from Emma to the closed front door.

Emma had gone back to unpacking, but glanced up at him. "Yeah, of course I do."

"So do we," Mia said, shaking her head slightly. She shot Henry a look. "You know he's going to tell Mom we were here."

"Who?" Henry asked, ignoring Mia again. "'Cause I'm still trying to figure it out."

It only took Emma a second to realize the kid wanted to know what fairy tale character Gold was. All roads seemed to lead to the curse with Henry. "Oh. I meant in reality."

Mia let out a short laugh.

They both came over to see what she was doing, and they weren't too impressed with her stuff. It wasn't what she had that they had a problem with…it was more that they thought she should have more of it.

Emma wasn't used to having anyone in her business. She stopped unpacking and turned to the kids. "What are you guys doing here?"

Regina was at some meeting until five…on a Saturday. That was strange. But with her gone, Henry wanted to hang out.

"Ah, I wish I could, but there's something I've got to do," Emma said apologetically.

Mia's face fell and her expression turned stony. Emma immediately felt bad and internally cursed the timing, but the kids would still be there another time and she wasn't sure Ashley would.

Unlike his twin, Henry wasn't taking 'no' for an answer. He followed Emma, asking questions about what she was doing and begging her to let them help. Mia was trailing a little behind them, waiting impatiently for her brother to give up.

"Come on, Henry," Mia finally said with annoyance and frustration in her voice. "She doesn't want our help."

Emma could hear the catch in her daughter's voice. _Crap_. Mia wasn't really angry…she was _hurt_. Emma realized how this kind of rejection would feel to a girl who felt unwanted, at least by her…the birth mother who had given them up.

"It's not that," Emma protested. "It's dangerous."

Mia scoffed, crossing her arms in front of her. "Ashley's not dangerous. She's nice."

Emma's eyes widened slightly. "You know her?"

Mia shrugged slightly. "Small town."

"Well, did you know she assaulted Mr. Gold?" Emma challenged.

"Cool!" Henry cried excitedly.

Mia shrugged again. "He probably deserved it, knowing him."

Emma looked from Henry to Mia and sighed. "This isn't a game. She's desperate."

"How do you know?" Henry questioned innocently.

"Because I know," Emma said flatly, hoping he would just drop it.

Emma could almost see realization wash over Mia. The girl looked at her with a knowing expression. There was something different in the girl's eyes that Emma didn't recognize – understanding maybe? Was it even possible for a ten year old to understand something like this? Emma didn't think so.

"It's because you were desperate when you were pregnant with us," the girl blurted out. "Isn't it? Were you – were you the same age as Ashley?"

Emma sighed. "She's nineteen. I was eighteen." She shook her head slightly. "I have to find her."

Henry still seemed to think they were going with her for some reason. The kid ignored her completely when she told him 'no' – and she _had_ told him 'no,' several times, in fact, but it was falling on deaf ears…it was like the kid only heard what he wanted to.

Their little battle of wills came to a head when Henry threatened to look for Ashley by himself if Emma didn't let him go with her. Actually, he threatened for him _and_ his sister to look for her, but Mia didn't look too excited about the idea. Emma had a feeling the girl would rather be playing video games or watching TV or something.

Emma was shocked. She didn't know what to do with a defiant kid. She studied Henry carefully, almost sizing him up. He looked pretty damn determined to her. How was she losing an argument with a ten year old? She almost couldn't believe this was happening.

"I'm just trying to be responsible here." Emma hated that her tone was almost pleading. She hoped the kid couldn't hear the desperation in her voice.

"And we're just trying to spend time with you," Henry said, climbing into the back of her car undeterred.

The boy left the passenger-side door open for Mia to get in the front, but Mia just stood on the sidewalk awkwardly, eyeing Emma warily.

"Oh, that is really not fair." Emma looked at Mia and sighed, nodding toward the car pointedly. "Come on, get in."

* * *

After talking to Ruby about Ashley, Henry thought the pregnant maid was Cinderella because she had a stepmom and stepsisters. Emma did not think the whole fairy tale thing was going to help them right now. It wasn't like Ashley had left a glass slipper behind.

Their next stop was the boyfriend's house. Five minutes with the boyfriend's dad made it pretty clear why Ashley was running away with the baby. Ashley had sold the baby to Gold. The baby was what he wanted returned to him. This whole thing was really messed up. And it was making Emma second-guess the decision she made when she was in the same situation.

Would she have been capable of taking good care of the twins if she'd kept them? She knew she wouldn't have been able to give them everything Regina had. But the big house, the nice clothes…all the _stuff_ they had wasn't making them happy. Henry, at least, was miserable…so miserable that he ran away to find her. And Mia didn't seem all that happy to Emma either.

The more Emma thought about how things had played out for _her_ kids, the more she wanted to make sure Ashley could keep her baby if she wanted to. After she convinced Ruby that she really was trying to help, the waitress told her Ashley was leaving town for Boston. They found Ruby's borrowed car in a ditch near the town line, and Ashley in labor on the side of the road.

Mia looked like she was scarred for life. "I'm never having kids," the girl said with big, round eyes and a horrified expression.

Emma chuckled softly, knowing the kid could change her mind – just hopefully not for another fifteen to twenty years. She turned back to Ashley and assured her that she wouldn't let Gold take the baby if the younger woman really wanted to keep it.

"If you want to give this kid its best chance, it's going to be with someone who's ready so know what that means – your whole life is going to chance, and once you decide that it's yours, this running away can't happen. You have to grow up, and you can't ever leave. Understand?" Emma said bluntly.

Emma knew her kids were listening to every word she said, but she needed to say it. She knew how Ashley felt, but she also knew what it was like to grow up in the system. She didn't want this baby to end up in the system because Ashley wasn't ready to be a parent.

Later, after making a deal with Gold so Ashley could keep the baby and dropping Henry and Mia off, Emma thought about what she said to Ashley…she told her that she couldn't leave, and she knew _she_ couldn't leave either. Her kids needed her there – or at least wanted her there. With that in mind, she called Graham and told him she'd take the deputy job if it was still open.

She had a roommate for the first time since she was eighteen, a new job with regular hours and none of the freedom she was used to as a bail bondsperson, and twins that were…well, not _really_ her kids, but kind of were. She wasn't their mom, but she was _something_ to Henry and Mia. She still wasn't sure exactly what that was, but she knew she was going to be whatever they needed her to be for them.


End file.
